This might be an interesting story all by itself. A small, curly haired girl sits at her desk, her history homework waiting patiently to be completed, but instead she has her nose in a book. The book may not have been a part of her grades or the death stare that would surely come her way if not completed; it was just a plain, old book. But not to the girl. Others saw her as “that girl” who never talked. That girl who would skip gym class to sit on the bleachers to read The Hobbit. That girl who didn’t have friends. The girl was told everyday to put the book down, to look around and see the real world. To see the death, the natural disasters, the politics, and the wrongness of the world she was living in. But instead she kept her head down, her eyes traveling across the pages as she traveled to somewhere greater.

Girls my age would gossip with their friends during lunch, they would whisper about other girls and talk about their boyfriends. While I sat at my lunch table, a book propped in my hand and my brow furrowed, they glanced in my direction and laughed at the possibility of them reading more than what was called for. Reading wasn’t supposed to be fun. It was a requirement. They thought me shy and awkward for it. On more than one occasion, I have been told that my teachers and students saw me as a mute. I would mumble my responses and I dreaded small talk. I was afraid to raise my hand in class. I was afraid to ask to go to the bathroom. I was even afraid to put my answer sheet on the teacher’s desk after a exam, because I knew they would all look my way. They already did that enough, so why make it worse and put myself at the center of attention?

So that is exactly what I did. I decided to use my reading and help me come out of my shell. I joined a book club at my school. I discuss how much I loved The Hobbit. I talked about how much of a awesome character Hermione is from Harry Potter. I expressed my undying love for reading and I wasn’t ashamed about it for once. It felt as if I was being liberated. I began talking to those people outside of the book club. I may not have been a fan of small talk, but I was so for having book talks. I found myself raising my hand in class. I found myself not sitting at the lunch table alone anymore. I found myself a few of the best friends I still have today. I found myself putting the book down and doing my History homework! But most importantly, I found myself.