I
LOVE READING (ha. Betcha didn't see that one coming?!). It's
something I've always loved since I was a dinky 5 year old and it's
something I'm sure I will love as long as I live. SO, I thought I
would list the top reasons I love reading because lists are fabulous,
agreed?!
1.
Makes me understand people better
Without
reading I wouldn't know how it feels if you're living with a
disability, what it's like losing someone to cancer, what it's like
having OCD, what it's like having to be in a wheelchair all the
time...reading makes me understand people.
People can be quite confusing but books are like a...people
translator (I like that, yes).
This is why I believe reading is so fundamental in order for the
world to be a more harmonized, empathetic environment.
2.
Makes me feel less lonely
Yesterday
I felt really lonely. I was missing my South African a tremendous
amount and the homesickness felt like an anchor dragging me down BUT
THEN, I picked up a book which was also about characters
feeling alone and they kept
company. Because books make the best of friends.
3.
It makes me happy
LITERALLY.
Books can be really funny and I can't even begin to count the amount
of times I've felt anxious or under the weather and I read a book and
the next minute I'm laughing like a slightly hysterical seal and my
parents are wondering if I'm actually sane. But also, books and
reading make me happy.
Some people find happiness by baking or painting or dancing – I
find solace in books.
4.
Reading has helped me make friends
REAL
FRIENDS THIS TIME. I've
met some amazing people (mostly in the blogosphere) because we share
a love for books and reading. SO THANKS, BOOKS and thanks to everyone
else who thinks books are little golden nuggets that have fallen from
heaven.
5.
It led to my blog
It
actually boggles my mind to think that through reading I started
blogging which led to getting books before they're released and
actually having conversations with my favourite authors?! My 9 year
old self is so
proud
of me right now.
6.
Reading answers the questions I'm too scared to ask
There's
been a few times I've wondered about things like life, love, death,
friendship, illness and by reading a book it answers ALLLLL THE
QUESTIONS. Not only that but it answers questions I hadn't even
thought of asking, hence...
7.
Reading makes me smarticles
I've
learnt a lot from books and not always about things relating to
general knowledge (although I've learnt some of that too –
increased vocabulary YAS) but I've learnt how to be more
understanding, how to be more open-minded, how to handle things that
I would've been terrified of if I didn't have books to help prepare
me for certain situations.
8.
BYE-BYE REALITY
STORY
TIME::I
remember this one time, I got spacers between my teeth (they are the
spawn of satan trust me) because I needed a bigger space between my bottom set of molars to
fit metal brackets around and I was in agony
– physically and mentally. The pain was so bad and because of that I
was having panic attacks pretty much around the clock. THEN, I picked
up a book and I completely lost myself in the book. I wasn't me. I
didn't have sore teeth or anxiety. I was a teenager working in a mall
and falling in love. Once I had emerged from the story I felt so
much better.
9.
It's entertaining
There
have been so many times
where I am bored out of my mind because my friends are busy, or I
can't go out or everything just seems dull but then I pick up a book
and I'm transported.
I'm reading abouts heists and wizards and underwater kingdoms and
voila – the boredom disappears. It's magic.
10.
Reading helps me feel understood
There
have been so many times
where I've felt like nobody understands me or my anxiety or just
certain thoughts and then I find a book and it gets me.
You know those kind of books that feel like the author has seen
inside your head and it's kind of freaking but more awesome?! YES,
THOSE.
That's
why I love reading! Why do you?!