This was easily the worst decision of my life. 

I was young and stupid. It probably happened around high school. For some reason, my peers thought “reading” and being a nerd was dumb, so I started to let reading go. 

At least in middle school, I would try to finish the Lone Star Reading list, just to win prizes from the school library. But in high school, I went to the library maybe...three times? 

It was a real shame. High schoolers can be cruel, and with life already being so busy and hectic from all the studying and extracurricular activities, I didn’t have the time*.

*Correction: I didn’t make the time. 

I was too busy trying to “fit in” and not look too nerdy. (To put it into perspective, I didn’t realize it until my junior year, but I would end up graduating top of my class, so you can see why I was very conscientious about being a nerd.) 

Eventually, I learned to embrace being smart. And it helps that once you get out to the real world, it’s actually REALLY cool to be smart. 

Seriously, why didn’t anyone tell us this when we were young? 

Anywho, I stopped reading for dumb reasons. I ended up only reading the things required in school, and I never thought self-help books were worth anything. 

Boy was I wrong. 

For all the youngins’ out there reading this, don’t stop reading. Read what you love, and if someone says that you’re ‘lame’ or a ‘nerd’ or ‘read too much’, just tell them, 

“Well I want to be wealthy and successful and all the big wealthy and successful people out there do it! Look at Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg! Are you telling me being wealthy and successful is ‘lame’, ‘nerdy’, or ‘not worth the time?” 

For real, tell me how that goes. I want to know their reactions. I should’ve said that to all the people who said the same to me. 

Shut down the haters and surround yourself with those who’ll take you to the next level.