Editor's Note:

"Read ten thousand books,mk and your pen will be guided as if by the gods" is an ancient Chinese idiom that can be seen in students' textbooks. China's Ministry of Education has published an action plan to further promote reading among students across the nation. With new and diverse book recommendations, the reading scene is expected to be revived not only at schools, but also across society. To contribute to this endeavor, the Global Times launched "My Reading Life" essay contest for middle school students.

Please pick up a pen and share your stories with us at [email protected]

Participants will be rewarded once the article has been selected.

Photo: IC

What I love most about reading is that it allows us to dive into a different world. However, it was only after I headed into middle school that I was able to appreciate reading, amazing authors and books.

There were periods when I was younger in which I didn't want to read, or even glance at books. At that time, the only way to have fun was to play games with friends and that was way more important than reading "boring" books talking about someone else. Why read about others' adventures when I can be part of my own was what I thought each time my parents asked me to read. 

The first few books that I enjoyed were comics. The genre was fun to read and easy to understand with way more pictures than words. When comics became boring, I stopped reading completely. One year later, my interest was in fairy tales and I especially loved those written by Hans Christian Andersen. For the first time, I read books for a time longer than 40 minutes. 

My favorite book at that time was The Ugly Duckling. The book tells the story of a young duckling who is shunned by others for being different and unattractive. Feeling isolated and unhappy, he embarks on a journey to find acceptance and belonging. As he faces various challenges, he ultimately transforms into a beautiful swan, discovering his true identity and worth. The tale beautifully illustrates themes of self-acceptance, resilience, and the idea that true beauty comes from within. 

For me, the book is more than just a fairy tale since it taught me to have confidence and self-love. I still remember the joy I felt when the Ugly Duckling finally found his place with the swans. 

During the third grade, the teacher started asking us to write about books and to keep track of the number of pages we read every week, but I again lost interest in books so the pages I read were few.

Heading into the fourth grade, I read more books than before over the two months of our summer holiday. That was my first taste of classic and literature books. I found myself dazed by how perfect The Wind in the Willowswas and sunk deep into that book. It weaved the animals with humans and created unforgettable images in my mind. At this time, my annoyance with books slowly faded away.

I still had a hard time getting into books and reading the first few chapters but how I valued books and reading was at an all-time high. The fifth grade was a hard year for me because I became addicted to video games, and was pouring huge amount of my time into playing. I once again lost interest in books and played games on my phone while "reading." I had a difficult time before finally knowing that what I was doing was wrong and struggling to escape video game addiction. Eventually, I quit video games and focused my time on reading. 

Grade Six was a golden period of reading for me, I finished many classics, and I spent hours reading on weekends and finished one book after another. What I felt while reading was magical, I forgot time and was immersed in the characters and plots. Some books were forgotten after a short period but others inspired me. My love for reading grew and finally, in Grade Seven, reading was my passion.

Books can teach us a lot and each book we read left us something. As technology becomes more crucial to us every day, more and more kids stop reading at a young age. I urge those reading this to continue doing so since in China's long history, many successful person reached where they were because of reading. Books are our best teachers.

The author is a student at Keystone Academy