I met many wonderful people while I was at Camp Ewalu in 2016 for four weeks. Some of these people left me puzzling how I viewed everyday life (in a very good way of course). In particular, one of these girls that I lived with loved books. She loves books SO MUCH that she reviews them online for other people. Regularly. Some may think like I did at the time:
"Books? Really?"
The reason I was so critical was–frankly–because I was intimidated. I spend a lot of my time on the internet being unproductive. I check Facebook again two seconds after I close it, and I'm constantly on YouTube with random whims like watching every Nicki Minaj video at least once (yeah...). Hearing that someone reads books–something that seems like a chore for some–was so bizarre, especially for someone in high school.
Since then, I have slowly but surely have gotten back into reading. (I'll list all the books I read so far later) In the amount of reading that I have done (even though it isn't as hefty as avid readers), here are reasons that reading books for non-academic purposes is actually essential:
1. A lot of them are actually cool. Many movies I've seen are very predictable, but many books (especially for young adults) are structured with a unique voice. Reading about someone's actual life, a memoir–that stuff is real! There is a world of plot lines that aren't ordinary "sports dramas" or "chick-flicks".
2. Screens can be overwhelming themselves. I'm a terrible sleeper on a regular basis, but if I read before bed instead of being on my phone or computer, I am able to get to sleep faster. It gets my mind to a better place, and my eyes don't have to recover from the damage from a screen. I feel much better the next day.
3. Books feel more human. The P.O.V. of a book could be so deep that the reader almost feels in sync with the story, even if the reader is a 40 year old woman in modern America reading about a fictional 8-year-old boy in Nazi Germany. Through those experiences, we can learn things we didn't realize we needed to know. Rarely has a movie done that for me.
In books, we find nourishment for our hearts, souls, and minds. It's hard to find a will when starting, but when it happens, maybe you too can understand my dear friend at camp. Happy reading, my friends.
Some Books I've Read:
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Sifka Brunt
Hamilton the Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
A Work in Progress by Connor Franta
Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming
