I live my life fully believing that reading can cure just about anything. When you are sad and weary, and nothing in your life is looking up, books can transport you away from your life into a different world. Even though it is only for a small amount of time, that brief relief from reality can rejuvenate you and give you a new perspective. Books have the ability to completely change your life forever. We read when we are sad, when we are mad and when we are completely elated. Books do not discriminate nor do they judge you. Books can be your best friend or your worst enemy. They can make you cry when you need a good cry (and believe me everyone needs a good cry once in a while) or laugh when you’re most in need of a laugh. Books are there for you when no one else is. They can lift you up to new heights and make you feel things you have longed to feel. They can make you giddy or absolutely tearful and that makes them truly amazing.

When I was young, I was never the popular girl. People didn’t flock to me and frankly sometimes I stood out like a sore thumb. I was always the girl on the playground sitting on a bench devouring a book rather than playing with the other kids. As I grew so did my love for books and reading. My teachers would have to tell me time and time again to stop reading the book of the day and pay attention to their class. As time passed and I entered into middle school, life started to change. A few people didn’t like who I was, and as a result I was bullied. There was a girl in one of my classes who was relentless in her bullying and as a way to escape her cruel words, I would read in class. Reading was my escape from the hurtful words, and my reality then, and it still remains so today. Whenever life gets tough, or I’m feeling stressed and sad I always find myself reaching for a book to help escape my pain. This is not to say that reading will magically fix everything, but it does allow for you to get out of your current mindset and see life differently. I see this quick relief as a small step to fixing the bigger problems in your life.

Getting badgered in middle school, and even high school, about my love for reading has taught me something. It taught me that if you love something, you shouldn’t let others opinions on what you love affect your passion. Be proud to be the nerdy girl walking down the halls with her book in her face. Be proud to be the boy who reads rather than plays football. Be who you are, and love what you love unapologetically. You are your own person and just because having a passion for reading isn’t the “norm” in today’s society does not mean you should change. Embrace your uniqueness to your fullest capability, and make it something that can inspire you or others. Don’t let societies expectations of you force you to do or be something you’re not.

A friend of mine was telling me recently that she used to hate reading, but during the lowest point in her life, where she was having a hard time with social anxiety and a number of other things, she read. She read the book “Pride and Prejudice” over and over again and it allowed her to escape from her life and what she was going through. She allowed this book to help and change her, for she saw herself reflected in the main character. This book changed her life, as she realized that reading was her passion as well as the means of helping ease some of her social anxiety. It impacted her life so greatly that she is now an English major, a major that three years ago, if asked, she would have laughed in your face. Similarly, when I was going through a rough spot in my life a year or so ago, I felt very isolated. I felt as though nobody felt the way that I do and that I was alone in this world. One day, on a whim, I decided to buy a book on my phone and read it. At first I was skeptical and felt as though I would not enjoy it, but upon reading the first few chapters, I discovered that this very book was exactly what I needed. My thoughts and feelings were completely mirrored in this book, and during a time when I felt isolated and scared, it was exactly what I needed. I felt more comfortable with my thoughts and my feelings, and it was an essential step in the climb out of the metaphorical hole I was in. Books have an amazing ability to change a life, or help someone in their darkest times, and I cannot think of anything more wonderful.

I think that it is important for a healthy individual to read everyday. Reading anything from an article to a romance book to a memoir allows for you to see the world through a new lens. Reading enriches your mind and as a result you become a smarter, more open-minded individual. I have heard from many that they don’t like to read, be it that they are slow readers, have a disability or think they don’t have the time, but life is all about trying new things and learning to appreciate things that you don’t necessarily think you like. Find a book, story, poem or article that you find interesting, not what others find interesting, and read it. Just reading a quick article or a brief poem once a day can help you in advancing your mind. Allowing yourself the time to read and explore can open doors you didn’t previously know were available to you. Practice makes perfect, and if you take small stepping-stones everyday, you may just find that reading might be a new passion of yours.

Reading is a way to cope. It can greatly impact a person and that power should be embraced and cherished. Embrace what you love, what you find interesting, what makes you, you. If reading is intimidating to you, take it as a challenge and grab a book, grab some tea (or coffee, or soda, or water or whatever you like), and curl on up. I hope this article inspires you to give reading another shot as it has changed my life and I hope it can change yours too. To those who already have a deep love for reading I hope that this served as a little reminder of the impact a passion for reading can have on your life.