I feel that people who read have an amazing advantage on people who don't. Because, whereas non-readers are stuck in the real world all day, a very boring world, readers are able to escape to the comfort of a world full of magic, adventures and epicness. Books allow us to expand beyond the borders of our seemingly normal lives. We can immerse ourselves in the perspective of another person. We learn how to empathise with people who are different than us. We get the privilege of learning all of these important lessons on life and love in the most fun way. Books also invoke the most powerful of emotions. I have never felt more emotional, or in other words human, than I have while reading a book. Books have made me feel as if I am not alone in a world that I feel is constantly letting me down. Books allow me to go on heart-wrenching adventures when in reality, I'm stuck in a continuous cycle of "wake up, go to school, go to sleep". Books give me hope that maybe I have the ability to live a more exciting life than the one I am stuck in. 

Growing up, I was never a big reader. I personally thought it was boring and constantly asked myself why anyone would want to read. Looking back, I can make many parallels to my sisters and my parents. To say the least, we are not a "reading" family. No one in my family reads in general, much less for fun. And so, when I did fall in love with reading, I turned to the internet and Booktube for consult. It became very lonely knowing that no one around me, not even my friends, enjoyed reading and storytelling as much as I did. 

Going back to before I started reading, I was a completely different person. I was just like everyone else. I played the sports everyone played, I watched the shows everyone watched and I was friends with people I thought were friends with me. I hope that maybe someday in the future, I can have real friends who are interested in the same things I am, specifically books. Unfortunately, I don't see that day coming anytime soon. I live in a relatively small town, which in turn, creates very small-minded people. I feel very fortunate to have reading as a gateway to the rest of the world and to important issues that spand beyond the borders of this town. Reading has made me open-minded, wise and in all words, different. And I am happy to be different. And sure, reading has somehow managed to isolate me from everyone in my life, but still I have never felt happier than when I am by myself reading a book. To say the least, reading saved my life.