As a kid, I remember how often I would hear my classmates complain about reading for class. I would often hear them say they would rather take a test than having to read a book for class. From a young age, we are taught to read and often we almost exclusively use the skill for school.

The fun is taken out of reading almost immediately. Read this book, write a report. Read this book, present it to the class. Read this book, take a test on it. We rarely ever get told hey go read this book just for fun.

It's drilled into our head from a very young age that reading is a chore. We make it a job that we have to do instead of a fun activity that it could be if we treated it that way.

Reading can be a way for you to get out of your reality. It can distract you from your own real-world problems. It can entertain you. It can make you laugh. It can make you happy just putting yourself in someone else's perspective for a little while.

When your boyfriend is ignoring your texts, it might help to read about someone else's boyfriend in some book doing a similar thing. It gives you a different perspective. It can help you see things in new and different ways.

You don't have to read every day. Or even every month. But reading can be fun.

You can choose to read anything you want. Any genre. Any book. No teacher is assigning it. No grades depend on it. You're reading just for the fun of it. It makes it a lot more enjoyable that way.

Reading can help you improve yourself. You can expose yourself to new things. You're gaining new experience by learning about other people and what they are doing.

It improves your communication skills in different ways. When you see someone reading a book you've read, you can easily start a new conversation. It can make you better understand people who are reading things similar to your own readings or even give you a new perspective for how certain people feel or think because you've read something that you think relates to them.

When you read, it helps you learn more and easier. It boosts your creativity and imagination. You're always using your brain when you're reading without being extraneous. It can improve your vocabulary as well. It's mentally stimulating which increases your own personal knowledge. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

It gives you stronger analytical thinking skills. It can help improve your focus and concentration. Also, it can help become a better writer.

Also, it can calm you down and help you reduce stress to get your mind off of certain things if you're in a high-stress situation.

Reading shouldn't be a chore.

It should be something fun. It has a large amounts of benefits. So next time you're having a hard day instead of watching Netflix go grab a book and start to read. I promise it's very underrated.