I love to read and I’m proud.

Normal girls my age go shopping and can never decide on what outfit to get. I go to a bookstore and take hours to choose just one book. As I walk down the aisles I see so many potential worlds I can enjoy and it is nearly impossible to choose one. I walk by books I’ve read before and unfinished series and books that have been on my list for ages and I’ll be lucky if I can narrow it down to five books that I want. I have a completely new dilemma when trying to decide between two paperback older books or one newer hardback book. One quick trip to the bookstore can take an hour and I’ll leave with only two books and twenty more added to my ever growing “to read” list.

Normal people my age don’t even realize the movie was based on a book. Whenever one of my favorite books is made into a movie I count down the days and buy my midnight premier tickets weeks in advance. I watch every single trailer searching for the smallest hints to the plot and overanalyzing every dialogue. When the cast comes out I find every picture of them imaginable on the internet and compare them to the visual I had in my head, which is usually incredibly specific. I go into the theater in love with the characters yet nervous about how the movie will portray them. Seconds after the movie ends I am already explaining to the poor soul next to me everything that went wrong and how it should have been done.

Normal students my age hated having books assigned to read in English class. But I loved the idea of reading a book I never would have chosen. I am guilty of finding a genre and sticking to it without exploring different types of books or new authors. These assigned books forced me to pick up a book I never would have chosen otherwise, and sometimes these books surprised me. One of my many all time favorite books is “The Count of Monte Cristo” and I never would have looked at this book twice if my sophomore English teacher hadn’t assigned it. These books ended up teaching me the most and widened my outlook on life.

Normal people spend their Saturday mornings sleeping in and watching Netflix. Don’t get me wrong I love watching Netflix but I would rather spend the morning reading a good book. I have spent hours on the couch lost in another world losing track of time until I realize I haven’t eaten in hours. The same happens late at night. I’ll start reading in the early evening and keep telling myself just one more chapter, just one more chapter, until it’s 3 in the morning and I finished the book in one sitting.

Normal students can’t remember the last book they’ve actually read. I can never choose my favorite book. If you ask what my favorite book is, be ready for a long winded answer with way more information than you care to know. I will mention around 20 books but never actually choose just one.

But hey, where’s the fun in being normal?