Nerd Alert: Reading Is Good For Your Health

The majority of my life has been smooth-sailing. For most of my life, I was told not to meddle in other people’s affairs and to not think too much about what others say. As a result, I would say that I have faced very little struggles. In the article “Nerd Alert: Reading is Good For Your Health,” the author Jen Christensen describes aspects of reading that may be beneficial towards our emotional and mental health, including how to face those struggles that I never had. Instead, I read books for the sake of reading. Occasionally, I would read a book that would especially resonate with me, and then I would feel that I have reached into the soul of another person, rather than just bland words on a page. Sometimes, I forget that the authors are human beings as well, and they may as well have the same struggles as me. Often times, I wonder about the people behind the books, and how much of themselves they poured into their books. Books, instead of consoling me about my own problems, made me more aware of other people and expand my worldview.
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, for instance, has taught me a lot about the struggles of the lower class Chinese farmers in the 1920s. Through books like this, I can imagine what life must have been like for the great-grandparents I have never met before. The Water Margin by Shi Nai’an, another one of my all-time favorites, has shown me the epitome of heroic behavior as it chronicles the lives of 108 men and women who had to resort to banditry in the Liangshan Marsh in order fight against the corruption of the ancient Chinese government. Books have no doubt showed me so much about the world that I will never be able to learn in a traditional textbook and made me who I am today. For that, I am thankful for giving me so many adventures that I might have never dreamed of