I have always been an avid reader. It didn't take me long to finish a book once I started it. I could read all day; I would pick up the next book in series if I finished the first one or start a completely different one if I just had a fresh stack of books I had picked out from the library. My sister and I would return from the library, throw ourselves onto our beds, and begin reading. We would occasionally make a comment out loud or share a funny scene. "You have to read this book." We would tell each other as we turned pages.

We would often read into the night. If my dad came and saw us still awake, he would ask us to turn off the light and go to sleep. Sometimes we would listen, other times we would wait until we heard his bedroom door close before flicking the bedside lamp on (specifically placed there so we could read in bed). If we did fall asleep, I would always wake up and reach for the unfinished book. I would not brush my teeth. I would not get out of bed. I would not leave my room until I finished the remaining pages.

Now as a college student, my time gets filled with reading scientific articles for classes, research papers, and books for class. The leisure time I once had to lay around and spend the day reading is a fond memory. However, the habit to read something as soon as I wake up has continued. At first it was a habit I did because I had always enjoyed diving into a book before beginning my day. One day I read tips before taking the ACT/SAT, and one of the tips was to read something before coming to the exam. The logic behind it was that before you take a exam filled with an hour long reading section, you should prepare your brain with some light reading. It could be anything, but it had to get the gears in your head moving.

I have always remembered this tip. I have continued to apply it in my life. Every morning when I wake up, I pick an article to read from BBC, NPR, the Snapchat discovery page, anything I could read for at least five minutes. It could be about the news, or last night's awards show, or a new scientific discovery. Once I have done my small bit of reading, I feel more prepared to tackle the day. I already got my brain working; it is time to get my body working too.

Take a few minutes in your morning to have a little more time to yourself and what you want to do. Choose what you want to read and it can start your day off well.