A beneficial hobby

by Presley Hughes, reporter

Whether it’s fiction, historical or fantasy, students of all ages benefit from reading in their spare time. Reading will do various things for students like reduce stress, improve vocabulary and create a thirst for knowledge beyond what is taught inside of school.

As a student, I know how unimportant reading can feel when it includes required texts. Reading things like old poetry with hard-to-understand meanings and underlying messages can be confusing and frustrating. 

When an individual finds a book they will truly understand, no matter how mentally challenging, it will change that person’s ability to comprehend concepts and apply new words in school and their personal life. 

According to Brianna Hanson, a writer at Cornerstone University, “The words make sense within the context of what you’re reading so it makes it easier to remember later.” When we learn to derive context from conversation, we gain a skill we use throughout the rest of our lives.

As an aspiring writer and an avid reader, finding an interesting book and focusing on how the author forms sentences to create both clarity and imagery for the reader, is a way of finding intrigue in school issued reading. 

When someone reads often, they gain an understanding of how sentences are formed and how different words will go together to change the meaning of the word entirely. 

According to Roslyn Petelin, a writer at Routledge University, “Reading helps you absorb grammar, style and punctuation.” Constantly absorbing information from authors and writers alike will improve people’s ability to correctly formulate and maintain intelligent sentences and conversations. 

According to Lynn Radlauer, publisher at educational consultancy InLikeMe, “The more you read challenging materials, the faster you’ll read and the better you will comprehend. These skills will help you on the SAT Critical Reading and ACT Reading tests.” So, reading will aid in many skills that will become beneficial in future stages of life like high school, college and even job interviews. 

Reading for personal gain will have many benefits. It will provide a gateway to greater future school and job options. So when someone is choosing between scrolling on social media or reading, choosing the latter is more beneficial, I promise they won’t regret it.