Literature is something I consider both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, reading reminds me of the fact that the words, and the worlds printed on the pages in my hands will end, and I will be sent back to my mediocre reality. On the other hand, it sends me to places that I could never have dreamed of without leaving the comfort of my bedroom.

Reading a book is the equivalent of taking a new identity. And who wouldn't say that makes reading fun? One day I could be a princess on a towering balcony, awaiting my forbidden love. The next, I could be a Russian woman struggling with poverty after traveling to America, not that that would be a worth-while choice.

The point is that in the stories I read, I can be whomever I desire. When reading a book, I am able to become one with the story. I can hear the waves crashing on the rocky shoreline of the East Coast while Nicholas Sparks tells the tale of a lost love. I can smell the turkey dinner as the bird is being carved by Scrooge on Christmas Day. I can feel the harsh winds of a twister on a family farm in Kansas.

Stories have a way of evoking our emotions, of making us feel something, anything. But most of all, stories are an escape. Leaving my everyday life behind to explore new worlds is the highlight of any normal day for me. The most exciting part of reading for me is that I can always control and change my environment. I never have to be in one place for too long and I can always revisit reality, between chapters of course. This sense of control is the main reason why I feel so content losing myself in a book. I never have to feel trapped by the stress of everyday life because I always know that there is a whole new world waiting for me.

The books I have read, and continue to read, are the things that shape my personality and opinions. Take a look at the next book you see someone reading. My mom reads James Patterson mystery novels because she is always intent on getting to the bottom of situations. My father reads historical novels because he likes knowing things will be remembered, and is currently attempting to bribe me into writing our family memoir. My high school AP English teacher was particularly fascinated with Russian literature because she enjoyed reading about how their culture differed from ours, similarly to how she is more unique and different from anyone else I know. I personally identify myself as a romantic who is overly obsessed with finding the good in everyone. My favorite novels are the ones that make me believe that there is something, or someone, else in the big world for our small selves.

At this point in life, I’m starting the next part of my own story. My life is composed of small, but necessary, chapters that compose my life. But my story is far from over. College is one of the bigger chapters in my life and it’s halfway over already. However, I find comfort in knowing there are plenty more chapters and stories to come.

As the author of my own story I have the ability to rewrite and revise as I please. Some things aren’t as easily erasable, and others can be ripped up and burned as I allow. I try to keep my story as raw and original as possible, as I am a firm believer that the mistakes and regrets we have in life are the very things that make us grow and become the people we are. Life is like reading. You never know what is coming next, and you won’t find out until you turn the page and take a moment to read.

Remember: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies...The man who never reads lives only one.” ― George R.R. Martin