Why do you love reading so much?

When people ask me this question, I usually can't think of a quick, direct response. So many answers pop in my head, and various reasons cloud and mix together. After all, there are countless reasons why I love reading, why I love books, why I love literature. I love reading because I love words in general, I love creativity and imagination, I find it relaxing and therapeutic, I find it fun, inspiring, and amusing at times. I love reading because of the fact that it allows me to feel everything there is to feel.

Mostly though, I have always said that reading was a form of escapism for me. It was a gateway to different worlds, different people, different experiences that I do not get to live in real life. It is my familiar place, my refuge, my little break from the mundane and sometimes stressful things of everyday life. It is sometimes even my escape from the more difficult times in my life.

And yes, I still do see all that.

However, this year in particular, I feel like I've discovered a bigger answer to the question. To me, I feel like reading has evolved and has become a closer look at life. How? Through the events and situations that occur in books, through the subject matter and themes explored, and through the characters' stories.

Through the variety of these stories, I have a closer look at my own life and my own experiences. I get to see a closer look at my own dreams and aspirations. I get to reflect on my past, my present, my future. When I read, I see my life in one way or another in them. I get to inspect how I live my life, what I can change, improve, what I can continue to do. It's also how I learn ideas and concepts, different opinions and viewpoints.

Secondly, books not only let me see my life, but it also opens my eyes to different situations and issues about the universe we live in, and lets me learn about different types of people and the things they go through. Books have opened doors to endless opportunities for learning and discovery, understanding and empathy. 

I feel like when I put a book down to continue to live my own life in the real world, I become, even just a tiny little bit, a much more well-rounded, sensitive, and open-minded individual than when I started the book. Because of all those things that reading does for me in my life, books have become a necessity, no longer just a hobby or a past time. It is a part of who I've become today, and who I will be as a human being later. You know that saying that books feed one's soul? I believe that to be absolutely true. Tell me what books and reading mean to you, and your reasons as to why you love reading so much.