One of the privileges students have over the summer is free time. I personally feel that free time is a double-edged sword that can either be used for one's own benefit or wasted slowly. This summer, I wanted to apply that time to reading books, and I found that experience to be incredibly fulfilling. I've read books that I meant to catch up on in high school such as "Lord Of The Flies" and fun novels from authors like Stephen King and Wendy Lee. When I would take the subway, rather than sleeping, I would pull out the book and begin reading.

Initially, it was very awkward, to say the least. I kept getting bored with the book and wanting to put it down. It was the context that set the story into track but because I was so used to fast-paced narratives and cinematic portrayals, the books themselves seemed bland and monotonous. Unironically, as I started getting more invested in these books, I started to find it harder to put these books down. I found myself thinking about the character analysis and the unfolding of different plot and alternative endings.

As my train routes became longer and longer, I got more and more enveloped in the stories. I began to understand the joy of getting into a story and the thrill of knowing that anything can happen. By the end of the summer, I had already read three books through my times on the train when I had nothing to do. I recommend reading for fun as in a time like this, most students and kids around my age usually don't read because everything is so centered around social media.

Everyone you see, especially in public transport, in either on Snapchat or Instagram or some form of entertainment. No one exactly looks up, even on the streets where everyone is eternally bent toward their phones. It's understandable that a new wave of technology brings out a new wave of a generation. However, it doesn't hurt to put your phone away and pull out a good old book and start reading whenever you got time.

It's really fulfilling in the long run.