Why I Read

There are a million different reasons I read but in the end it really all comes down to just one. I read to escape. I am the goalie for the lacrosse team and am a four year varsity starter. That sounds great, and believe me it is, but it's also so much pressure. Being goalie, I not only have to play for myself but I have to play for everyone around me too. I am the one person on the field that if I have a bad game, it will result in a loss every time. If I'm off my game for one day, sometimes for just one play, everyone pays for it. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do. I love it so much, but it is a lot to handle and so I read for the moments when it all gets overwhelming. On those few days I have a bad practice, I go home and I read. When I read, I don't worry about practice, or that game, or holding my team up. I get to think about someone else. I get to worry about the problems Jodi Picoult or Chris Crutcher create and then they solve them for me. I get to look through someone else's eyes and see what is important to them. I get a totally different look at life that I might not ever get otherwise. When I read I can feel the tension leaving my muscles. I can feel the stress leave my body and when that happens, my head clears. It's amazing how many times I've picked up a book with a seemingly impossible problem in front of me and put down the book with a solution. I read because it's important to me. I read because it shows me that there are other things in this life that are more important than me and there are other problems much bigger than my own. I read to be a more compassionate and less selfish person, I read to relieve stress and to let go of the day, but most importantly, I read because I love to read.