“So this is what insanity is. Not goofy behavior, but watching a sudden change in the world you used to know.”

― Toni Morrison, God Help the Child

Have you ever found yourself reading a book or novel and not only does it speak to certain parts of what you have been feeling for a while but you are also so far into the book that you have forgotten about all of your obligations? I believe reading helps escape reality, and helps destress.

I have been what most call a bookworm for years. As soon as I learned to read it was what I wanted to do all day long. By the fifth grade I found myself reading things like Black Beauty, Forged by the Fire and all the books that happened to be in that trilogy, and so much more. During my years of elementary school, the schools gave us reading lists that would prepare us for the next grade. Although many students did not read anything on the list, I may have been the only student that happened to read the entire list during the summer plus anything in the public library that may have caught my attention.

Books have shaped the person I am today not only because of the constant reading I implement into my everyday life but also by the various styles used by the authors. By reading and using books to escape my reality I have also found reading to relieve stress. Whenever I have a very long and stressful day, at the end, I make a cup of tea and pick up a good book. Reading in this sense is not “work” to me, as an everyday blogger and lifestyle writer, author, I find myself also reading and finding different morals and standards the authors of the books I read integrate into their works inspiration for my writing as well.

By summer 2015 I realized that the major I began college in was no longer the major I should continue my education in. I believe that the point of realization for me was when I spent an entire week reading three almost four books because I was stressed out, and I enjoyed being sucked away from the reality of my issues and my family. In some way I believe that my clarity of what to do with my problems in reality had to do with the characters of the novels I read during that time – there was just so much I learned from the characters that individuals more than likely skip over.

So when my family traveled to see me the weekend after my birthday and my siblings came bearing books as gifts, I being the reader I am jumped for joy! Earnest Hemingway said it best when he said "there is no friend as loyal as a book." As a little girl I found that reading is a way to travel with the author through their imagination becoming the characters and taking the same journey they take during the book. Examples of books I have found myself reading and eventually becoming completely unaware of my surroundings while reading have been: God Help the Child by Toni Morrison, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Forged by fire by Sharon Draper, Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper, Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.

We all have our favorite authors, writers, novelists, that take us on a wonderful journey that ultimately helps us escape our reality. Whether it happens to be Judy Blume, Toni Morrison, Harper Lee or anyone who has the same style like any of these individuals, we find ourselves escaping reality as their imagination takes flight.