My start with reading, why I stopped, and why more people should join me in reading again!

<A Thread >
tl;dr People need to read more! Please read more!

2/ I've been talking to lots of friends recently, many of who are starting college this semester, and we keep talking about things we are doing to stay busy during quarantine.

For me it's been reading, but for my friends it's been literally anything else!

3/ My journey with reading started really early, around 4 or 5, and I attribute most of it to the fact that my mom would read to me every night. A privilege I am thankful every day for having.

4/ When I was in kindergarten I read every book in the school library about space. I became obsessed with learning about the cosmos during the week, and on the weekend I would go on space adventures with my dad and "discover" every corner of the universe I had read about.

5/ I soon moved from literature involving science fact to the vast depths of science fiction and fantasy. From dragons and mythology to time travel and alien species I consumed anything and everything.

6/ Most people have teachers who change their lives but my favorite Librarian has had one of the biggest impacts on who I am and how I see the world.

7/ Mr Tigner, my elementary school librarian, taught me about how beautiful the words on every page are, and everything we consume becomes a part of us.

Every book, every story, every conversation gives you a little more insight into how people think, and helps us think better!

8/ Then High School happened! My first semester of freshman year we read "To Kill a Mockingbird", and by read I mean desecrate with highlights, sticky notes, and reasons why Lee used this word or that.

9/ With every discussion, I lost a little bit of my love for reading, and by the end of the year I was done. Burnout from dissecting the written word rather than experiencing it.

I still read, but less. I went from reading constantly, to picking up a book a few times a year.

10/ For some of my classmates, the will to read left them completely. They haven't picked up a book in years. They don't get why they need to read, and for a while I forgot why I did too.

11/ I forgot that reading is good for the soul, that we paint the future with our imagination and literature gives us the colors to do so.

We are a world full of creators, makers, and change makers and WE MUST expand our pallet

12/ There is so much to learn, about ourselves, the past, the present, and the futures those before us have dreamed of. The fuck ups, the success, and every part of the process is sitting in writing for you to consume.

13/ So READ, pick up a book, article, or whatever and learn! And if you don't get it, or love it on the first go that's okay. Pick up another, or ask someone you know for a recommendation and get to peak a tiny but into their brain!

14/ As I wrap up, if you read something, or are reading something great, DM me about it I want to know!

Big thanks to @davidsholz for getting me to read again! And to Mr Tigner for introducing me to many of the far off worlds who made the the person I am today.

15/ Lastly, I leave you with a quote from @hankgreen's newest book!

“It's important to remember that we all change each other's minds all the time. Any good story is a mind-altering substance.”