The air is still around you, breathing slowly till your heart sinks to the bottom of your chest.  Your room is silent and calm as the rain beats against the window panes, you reach down below your bed and pick it up.  Your fingers run down the binding and glide over to the paper’s edge, you open it, and the world around you fades into the book you opened.

Reading books used to be a major part in life, before cell phones and computers it was the daily entertainment.

It has always been an underrated activity, especially among teenagers. It’s become one of those things were a teacher assigns a reading and the whole class groans as they look at the screens in their hands reading snapchat posts.  People have become so concerned with their busy life and social media that they forget to just sit down and relax for a little bit.

I asked one of my little cousin’s if they wanted me to read them a picture story and his exact response was “What’s a story?”.  It was heartbreaking to me that he was so fascinated by CandyCrush and Youtube that he didn’t understand what a story was. When I asked him if he knew what a book was his answer was “what teacher’s make you read”.

Personally I’ve always loved reading, growing up my mother who was a reading specialist, every Sunday she would grab me and my sister, sit us down on the couch, and make us read for at least an hour.  I loved every second of it, the fantastical creatures and worlds filled me with ideas and questions.

As the years passed, reading became an escape for me.  After school I could get away from all the problems and pressures while technically still being academic.  I distinctly remember back in 7th grade, when my grandfather passed away, I had a sharp incline in reading.

I would knockout whole book series in a week and I go back to the library the next day to find something else.  The characters were always a form of comfort, watching them exceed past their problems and conflicts and it made me feel like I could overcome mine.

Reading can have a positive effect on people, it’s sad to watch paper books and newspapers slowly fade in this modern era.  People should take a moment, even if it’s just 30 minutes, and slow down their fast life and enjoy the wonders of their imagination through books.