Personal Narrative: How Books Changed My Life

George R.R. Martin once said, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies… The man who never reads lives only one.” For centuries, books have transformed readers into someone else and transported them to different worlds. In my fourteen years, I have fought dragons, saved the world, and survived World War II. I have become others who were anywhere from a toddler to an adult. I have gone to wizarding school and a summer camp for demigods all because of books. Something magical happens when I open bound pages of words and begin to read. Books inspire me because they each open up a new world of experiences and feelings that will last with me forever.
Books have always held a sense of security for me because they offer an instant escape from reality. My own troubles stop for the few hours, minutes, or even seconds that words pull me into another world. When I worry, I read something light and humorous. When there’s nothing but monotony in my life, I escape to far off lands where anything is possible. With enough imagination, the stories not only come alive, but I become part of them. This sensation is so strong that the feelings I experienced reading follow me long after I close the books. Books also let me live different lives. I

I am able to go anyplace and do anything without ever leaving my seat. It is exhilarating to know there is no limit in the world of books. The “edge-of-your-seat” feeling is magnified, for reality does not hinder stories. Reading has taken me to the corners of the world and beyond. I have flown through the endless blanket of Space and traveled back and forth through Time. Through books, I have undergone the uncomfortable dampness of sailing and ridden painfully on horseback for days. Although I may never actually undergo a journey across the planet, the memories are still there. Books energize me by offering a portal to any place and time in the