Five Inspirational Reasons Why Young People Should Read
By Caroline Allen
Author of Earth, Read the novel Exerpt here
The following are reasons why young ones should read or go to the library and read:
*1. The power of being young is that you question everything. Every new generation needs to question our world. Why are things the way they are? How did we get here? How can we change things? Where do I fit?
Your questions keep life fresh and real for the rest of us. As the world becomes a scarier place, with increased violence and escalating climate change, your questions are growing in intensity, and in relevance. We now must question everything, and bring about change, to survive. I know it may feel like a lot of adults don’t get it, but artists and writers do. We question everything, too. We research, soulfully explore, grapple, write. We try to change the world with our words. I deal with big issues in the Elemental Journey Series. My protagonist, Pearl, is 13 when EARTH opens and in her 20s by the end of AIR. She is on a heroine’s journey in a world rocked by climate change. How can she find herself when the world is so messed up? What is required of her personally in such a world?
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*2. Do you want to do something meaningful with your life? Do you feel in your gut that you’re meant for something big? This passion needs to be fed. This passion is a hunger for life to be epic and powerful. How do you feed your passion to do something bigger with your life? Read. Read. Read.
If every day you simple do “normal” things, like going to school, showing up for work or doing your homework, you never pull yourself out of the mundane. Your life becomes nothing more than your own little world. Reading feeds the soul. Reading provides guide posts for how to live a rich and authentic life. If you’re seeking answers for the big questions in your own life, read as many books in as many genres as you can.
*3. You think there is a group of adults who have the answers to the world’s problems. There is no such group! No one has the answers. We are all, every single one of us, old and young, a dynamic, creative work in progress. Sometimes we’re all just one big holy mess. Join us in creating solutions to global issues. You can only do this if you’re informed. You can only be informed if you read. You are part of a long line that stretches back in time, that stretches forward in time. Where do you fit in the timeline? Read about the ancients, the Romans, the Middle Ages, the Industrial Revolution. It doesn’t matter if it’s a work of literary fiction about the bombing of Japan, a mystery about London in the 1800s, or a science fiction book about Mars. All books have information that will expand your understanding of yourself and the world. Read to understand how the world got to where it is today. Read to see where you fit.
*4. Read what excites you. Read what moves you. Read what speaks to you. Discover friends you didn’t even know you had. You feel alone. A lot of young people feel misunderstood, isolated and alone. I know I did. Pearl, my protagonist, certainly does in Earth and Air.
In class one day, a teacher opens a closet full of tattered paperbacks and lets Pearl borrow them. She grew up with no books in her house, and this closet full of books seems like a dream to her.Ms. Castle stood, stretched her back, sighed. She walked to the corner and put her hand on the knob of the teacher’s closet, a white door with horizontal slats. She spoke in her teacher’s voice. “I expect you to be responsible. I expect you to be careful. I expect you to be respectful.”
I followed her. I had no idea what she was talking about. What had I done wrong? What was I in trouble for now? I kept my head bent low. “One at a time,” she said, opening the door. “You must put one back before you take another.” She swept her hand toward the back of the closet. In front of us was a wall of tattered paperbacks. I was drawn forward, magnetically. I kept looking back at Ms. Castle, terrified this was some kind of trick, and she’d slam the door before I had a chance to reach the books. I stared at her permed hair, her blue eyes. She was the only “Ms.” I’d ever met. Was this what being a Ms. meant, row after row of glorious books?
At home, we still only owned a King James Bible and a Farmer’s Almanac. I’d never seen so many books owned by one person.
I ran my sweaty palm over the rough spines of the paperbacks like a blind person reading in quick succession. Whole universes to explore. Whole universes that were there the whole time. I couldn’t see the titles; everything was a blur. I grabbed one on top of the second row, didn’t look at it, held it against my chest.
“Only one at a time,” she repeated. “Put that one back before you take another.”I nodded. She looked at me hard, looked about to say something, but then didn’t.Books and stories will show you that you have kindred spirits all over the world. There are many souls out there who are just as aware as you are, who are just as frustrated, just as excited, just as in love. Go out and find them between the pages of a book.
*5. Don’t you become annoyed with people who are narrow-minded? Isn’t it boring when people only know the little slice of the pie that is their life? How do you think they got there? They simply lived their mundane lives without ever trying to introduce poetry and soulful elements to their day-to-day lives. Do you want to end up with an epic life? A life that makes a difference? An exciting life? A life that fulfills your dreams? Read.
Reading expands you. It opens your understanding of many areas of life. It increases your knowledge. It shows you worlds you’d never experience unless you read. It makes you an interesting person. If you read, you become excited and exciting, for the rest of your life.
Caroline Allen is the author of Earth and Air, part of the Elemental Journey Series. In Earth, 13-year-old Pearl Swinton is a visionary. But when her visions scare her parents and everyone else, she decides to go on a journey to find her aunt who has a similar gift,and to locate her runaway sister. In the end, Pearl has to choose between the earth she loves, and leaving her childhood home behind.
All thanks from inspirational Library Team to Caroline Allen for this guest post
Read more about the Elemental Journey Series at www.carolineallen.com
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