I bet you are curious as to why I was so bold in asserting that reading transforms your entire life. I really don't back down on this statement. Once you find that one book that sparks your interest in reading it changes from merely a hobby to a lifestyle. Every aspect of your existence is marked by the stories you read. They no longer become fictional, or just words on a page but rather lessons, memories, and deeper associations. There are many times where a decision I will make will correlate to a story I read. I'm not saying that I attempt to model my life after books, however, while reading I tend to reveal deeper truths about myself that are applicable to my actual life. You get so immersed in the lives and well-being of characters that you connect with them and place yourself in their position. I will look to books for guidance in trying times and find solace in the words of others. When I have no words of my own that can be strung together to express how I feel, chances are I will be able to find something relatable in a book. Literature speaks to the soul.

Aside from the content, the presence of books and the act of reading has done much more for me than I can communicate. Books have the ability to come to life and act as if they are literal beings. When you are in need of a friend or are feeling lonely, books will always be there for you to spend time with. When you are bored or want to pass the time, reading makes hours feel like seconds. If the realities of life seem far too harsh to bear, no worries because there is always a good story for you to disappear into. Reading has a way of making Friday nights spent in bed feel like the best party you could imagine. They never leave you, they don't change (even if your perspective does), and at the end of the day isn't that what we all really want?

Finally, books have the ability to manifest connections with others. The love of reading has a way of bringing together complete strangers and turning them into friends. Often times, I will be sitting on the subway and I look around and I almost always feel a connection to the others who are immersed in their own books. It is amazing to me how we can all have our own genre preferences and favorite books, yet, we all share these same feelings. Everyone's to-be-read piles will never shrink. We all can't pass a bookstore without wandering aimlessly, even if we truly have no money to spend. For all of us, there is no better relaxation than curling up with a good book and forgetting the world. Comfort truly is sitting in a library, cafe, or bookstore surrounded by books and people who share the same infatuation with reading that you do.

I will always love literature, and I will defend its importance for as long as I live.