AS someone who has been reading a lot of books since I was five years old, it dawned on me how much of a privilege it was when I was in Grade 9. We were required to read two books for the school year and make a book report on them. I vividly remember my English teacher telling us how to do the book report, and she laid down three approaches and assigned it to us. I wanted to make the third approach so bad as it was the hardest and the most interesting take, in my opinion. I wanted to challenge my mind on how I could proceed with reading the assigned book. I was assigned to the second tier. That perspective was also okay, but it seems too easy for me to do. 

I was talking to my classmates about it, and most of them had a hard time reading the book because they didn’t have the money to buy books as they pleased. It was when I realized how privileged I was because I would normally just grab a book I like and buy it without looking at how much it cost. 

It took me a while to admit to myself that reading is a luxury. Books are relatively expensive, whether you buy new or secondhand. You’re really doing well in life if you even get it in hauls throughout the year. Some people just have the means to survive and only get their needs met. It made me feel bad thinking that there will always be someone who doesn’t get to explore the wonders of books and how it takes you to a whole new world to escape.

In this day and age, information is at the tip of our fingers. Unfortunately, not everyone has the means to do so. It seems that knowing how to read means you’re lucky with your life. It shouldn’t be, but that’s the reality for some people. Every time I think about it, it is such a gut-wrenching feeling because it speaks heavily on how much society still needs to improve on why knowing how to read opens up opportunities, not only for those privileged but also for the minority because reading should be a right for all of us.