My childhood was filled with worlds that didn’t exist. I lived in so many of them, from a high school in Forks to a grassy field in the middle of a maze.

From now until the end of time, I’ll be grateful I grew up a reader. (Thanks, Mom.)

Today, I want to share five (of the many) things I’ve gained from reading over the years.

Memories

I have a pretty shit memory, but I will never forget the feeling when I finished a great book at three in the morning. Just lying there (usually crying), still in that world, mourning lost characters, smiling to myself at happy endings…

I am so lucky to have had those moments. It sounds stupid, but I always go back to them. They mean a lot to me.

Community

The community I gained through reading is one that came in a few different ways. The first wave came when I became addicted to the Twilight movies and later, The Hunger Games ones. Most of my best friends also became addicted, so I had a physical community to gush about them with. But I was also constantly on fan sites. I didn’t interact much with people on there, but you can be damn sure I re-blogged my fair share of gif sets on Tumblr.

The second wave of community came for me just last year when I started this blog. While I don’t read nearly as much as I did when I was younger, you guys accepted me with open arms. Thank you. ❤

Escape

Picture this: teenage Brenna listening to “Constant Craving” (the Glee version of course) and thinking about all the celebrities and/or fictional characters she wanted to be with…

I would lose myself in these worlds I read about, and then get sad when I realized I (of course) wasn’t in them.

Even though it sounds depressing, I am still so grateful that I could escape into those worlds when things seemed like crap in reality. (Because when you’re a teenager, a lot does.)

Movies

Now we’re down to the two things I’m most thankful for. First, my love of the movie industry (something that is a major part of my life) would be nonexistent without reading.

I’ve mentioned it before in my blog post about Twilight, but I wouldn’t have truly gotten into movies if it wasn’t for my obsession with film adaptations of YA books.

Through seeing the Twilight franchise in theaters, I fell in love with all aspects of film and never turned back. (We talked about this in our first podcast episode, which you can check out here!)

Confidence

Finally, I wouldn’t be a writer if it wasn’t for books… obviously. But more importantly, I wouldn’t have gotten the confidence to be a writer either. I remember reading YA books and thinking, “Hey, I could write like that.” And so, I went from writing for myself to thinking maybe I could share it one day.

And here we are. I’m so glad to be here.