How A Daily Dose of Reading Can Benefit You for a Lifetime by Amy

How A Daily Dose of Reading Can Benefit You for a Lifetime by Amy - January 2016 Scholarship Essay

The New Year marks a time of renewal and new possibilities. There isn't a set rule prohibiting or confining anyone from taking new risks or chances and becoming your best self anytime of the year, but there is something sacred and customary about holding out till the new year to make big changes in your life. No matter what the age most people around you have most likely made a New Year's resolution in the hope of making this year their best one yet. Most the time the goal or achievement wanting to be accomplished fails at lasting more than a month, but every once in awhile a New Year's resolution will stick and transform from a new goal into a long lasting habit. Like so many people, I have made a New Year's resolution with the optimistic hope that this one will last.
My New Year’s this year is to read a new book a week. Doing this will not only serve as an alternative entertainment than watching TV but will also benefit my education and better me as a student. It is simple, something that can be done with ease, and all that is needed is time set out to accomplish it. The dilemma most people face with keeping their resolution is that they make it too complicated and confusing, making it doomed to fail from the start. As a high school student trying to juggle homework, social obligations, and extra curriculars, reading for pleasure seems to always be put on the back burner. Reading has many advantages and positive impacts to it and when I finally came to the realization that reading is not something to be neglected but something to be remembered and made a priority, I decided that that’s what would be my new goal for 2016. Not only will it help me ascertain a larger volume of words into my vocabulary but it will be beneficial to improving my writing skills and assist me in becoming a more fluent and confident speaker. Each book I plan to read will not be chosen on size or popularity, but by quality of writing and the new perspectives each book will expose me to. Reading more, especially as a teenager, is helpful to assisting one in finding their identity and effective in exposing one to new views on life and how the world works. With technology becoming such a distraction and the culprit behind the loss of concentration in high schoolers, reading is a good way to stay amused while also improving your English and your success as a student, versus spending your free time wasting away in front of a TV or computer screen. Books are the friends you don't have; they give insight on topics you know little about, increase your knowledge on a plethora of subjects and topics, along with sharing vital experiences and useful advice on everyday issues.
Being in eleventh grade and just starting to take the ACT and SAT, being an avid reader comes in handy and is an aid to me in the reading and writing portions, along with preparing me to be comfortable in reading any topic or idea. Reading a book a week or just increasing the amount I read will not only help me become a better student and a positive influence on my education, but will better me as a person and expose me to things that I could never experience and understand without reading.