Reading, Vitamin For Your Brain

I normally read almost everyday, whether it’s current events, magazine articles, or books so I don’t know what it feels like not being able to read for a long period. For most of us, that like to go on-line everyday, it would feel somewhat strange not to be able to. The last couple of weeks that I wasn’t able to go on-line on a regular basis, I felt like I missed out tremendously on the current events. I think if you’ve gone on-line for a long period of time, it can be very additive but for some that have never gone on-line before, I often wonder if they feel like they are missing out on what the world wide web has to offer. Of course, television is a good substitution for PC.

When I’m watching television, I feel like I can utilized my time better by reading but sometimes television is another form of entertainment for those that don’t like to read. One of my co-worker loves to read, I think reading is like taking a vitamin for your brain, but do all books give you the same or equivalent potent of the medicine; I personally feel like they don’t. My co-worker only reads trashy novels, which I’ve never pick one up before therefore can’t say how much vitamin it’s for the brain, or it’s mostly just trash like the name suggested. Of course, different types of book stimulate our minds differently. When I fist came to the US, I learned my ABCD in the 5^th grade, and only able to read children’s book such as Dr Seuss, ‘The Cat in the Hat’. At the time, reading those books were in no mean to stimulate my mind but merely to sharpen my English skill, but it didn’t take me that long to move on to something more challenging. I’ve been reading mostly for enjoyment, to acquire new knowledge, to stimulate my mind, taking vitamins for my brain like what most reading is intended for.

I think you can teach your children to learn to love reading, but one has to see the importance of it. Reading is becoming more expensive comparing to watching television, which is getting to be cheaper but the draw back of watching television is the advertisements, which seem to have more and more power over children, teenagers, and adult. As soon as you turn on a television, you’ll see commercial for toys that your kids must have; latest and coolest cell phones for teenagers, and latest car commercial that make you feel like you have to trade your old clunk in for a new one. Television introduces us to a material world, it creates a want and need and doesn’t matter what the advertisement is for, you must have it. For those that love to read and see the value of reading, books might not be expensive at all, but for some, it might be a waste of money; it’s all about what you believe in and what’s important to you.

I believe in the power of reading, whether it’s reading for fun, to kill some time, or for research purpose; it’s all about stimulating and enriching the brain just the same, the degree of entertainment or knowledge might be different but it’s still the vitamins for your brain.