**This story is kinda personal and is not meant to offend anyone** I've been poor for my entire life. Homeless 3 times. My mother's side suffers from alcoholism and drug use. And both of my parents have struggled with substance abuse, one of them still does. Things were never great at home because of this. When I was 7, my mother almost drowned me while she was drunk. Since then I've almost drowned 6 times. My parents would fight a lot too. Then my mother started taking her anger and hurt out on me and my sister. My sister would take most of the beatings. As life went on, I started struggling with my sexuality. It became a lot. I felt so...lost. Then I read Cassandra Clare's "City of Bones" and I got so wrapped up in this other world. I related with Clary's fiery personality, Izzy's distrust, Magnus' wisdom and freewheeling bisexuality, Simon's terrible jokes, Alec's honesty, and Seb and Jace's pain. I gained confidence in who I was because I was so inspired by these characters. And now life is a little better because of it. This book universe Cassie made is more than just a ficticious story (I meeaan it may not be and all of us mundanes just don't have the Sight), it's real emotions and world problems expressed through absract metaphysical means. It's full of deep meanings and hilarious content. If I hadn't gotten into reading, I would probably be this small quiet girl with no friends feeling alone and scared. But now I have a network of close friends and a girlfriend who means the world to me. And hopes to create change and make the world better. **I would like to thank everyone who reads this, it means a lot to me**