The Perks of Being a Reader

I am seventeen; I have experienced much for my age. Maybe too much.

I have fallen in and out of love more often than I can count. I have broken hearts; I've had mine broken. I have loved the wrong man; I have loved the right one. The bad boy, the shy one, the jock. The mysterious brooder, the class clown. I have loved a genius; I have loved an idiot. An artist, a scientist, a writer, a dancer. A realist and a dreamer. I have loved a man as cold as stone, and one more emotional than me. One as beautiful as Adonis, and one who would hardly receive a second glance on the street. I have loved the righteous hero, the diabolical villain, and the man who acts by circumstance. Whenever I find one who I think is right, I am again proven wrong. 

I have also experienced loss. I have watched lovers, family, friends, and strangers succumb to the inescapable grasp of Death. Natural disasters, trauma, illness - the methods always produce the same result. I have heard the screaming of tires, the crumbling of metal, and the eerie silence following a crash. I have sat by hospital beds, listening to the slow, monotonous beeps that eventually fade away. I have held a wound together as blood pours over my hands, knowing that my efforts are futile but still holding on anyway. I have known those cut down in the prime of youth, and those who have lived long and let go. There have been the sudden deaths, so unexpected that it takes days until reality strikes. Others, I have been prepared for, but it doesn't lessen the hurt. No matter the cause or time of death, I carry holes in my heart for the lost. 

My opinions and thoughts have changed over the years. I have been an anarchist, a republican, a monarchist, a democrat. I have lead revolutions and crushed others. I have been extremely conservative, and extremely liberal. I have been quiet and silent in my views, and other times I am at the front of protests. I always have an open mind, and acknowledge all paths and possibilities. 

I have been on adventures grander than my wildest dreams. I have fought in wars, explored new lands, and sailed on uncharted seas. I have discovered new species and new cultures. I have climbed the highest mountains and plunged to the depths of the ocean. I have solved mysteries and murders, and committed the same crimes I solved. I have been a hero, a villain, and a bystander. 

I have been on many career paths. I have been a teacher, a scientist, an adventurer, and a stay at home mom. I have been ridiculed for my ideas when I present them, and rejected for my lack of aspirations when I don't. My tools have varied over the years: a pen, a sword, a telescope, a microscope, my body, my words, a gun. Above all, I have always used my mind, for it is the sharpest tool and will never grow dull. 

I have lived a thousand lives, because I am a reader. 

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin