I can't remember a time when I haven't been able to read. I swear, I walked into kindergarten knowing every word in those practice books.
When I was in grade school, I didn't love to read. I mean, I didn't hate it -- I've never hated reading -- I simply didn't love it. Nonetheless, I read often. In the second grade I took $10 and filled out the Scholastic book order sheet all by myself; it was my favorite magazine. I read A Series of Unfortunate Events starting in the fourth grade, albeit I never got passed book eleven.
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But I also avoided reading a book for my book report (I wrote the report based off the description on the back cover and I got a B) and I'd rather have talk to my friends than go anywhere near our classroom library.
I don't know what it was, but one day I flipped a switch and all I could think about was reading.
In the sixth grade, my teacher read us The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and suddenly I was hooked. I read the rest of the series in a month or two. I'd read during class and lunch and I'd read during recess. One day I was sitting at the top of the slide and read through The Battle of the Labyrinth, the fourth Percy Jackson book, and a girl came up to me. She asked me why I read so much and I remember shrugging in response and saying "I just like to read."
From there, I read numerous books, a new one in hand every week or two. At one point, I got in trouble and my punishment was that I wasn't allowed to read. Once, my mother's boyfriend threatened to throw my book onto the snowy roof if I didn't do my chores.
I've had more than 300 books on my personal shelves at one point. Reading has never been just a hobby to me. I don't stick my nose in a book just to read; I read to experience and to escape.
Sophomore year of high school, I was depressed and suicidal and my social anxiety wasn't a gift either. I read books until I wasn't in this reality any longer, but rather a world of dragons needing to be slain, of demons needing to be hunted, and of angels needing to be found.
When the stress of school and everyday life became too much work, I'd glue my eyes to a page and forget everything that made me unhappy until the moment I would shut that book.
I've found happiness again and books are still by my side.
While reading novels of girls saving the world and saving others, I was a girl reading to save my life. Reading has never been just a hobby for me, it's been a medication. I'm glad I've found the right prescription.
Now, I'm going to get back to the book I was reading.
