[Music]
so I know a lot of big stories stories
of superheroes that fly across oceans
and break down buildings to save the
people they love the most but at the end
they still may not be able to save who
they care about most I like to tell
stories that are smaller but no less
powerful as a kid I was labeled as shy
anxious slow when other kids were
outside playing in the Sun I sat alone
in the classroom reading when something
happened that day that made me nervous
I would burst into tears I was a crime
machine that set off whenever somebody
rattled me and then one day my teacher
sent my mom down in her classroom and
told her then I needed to be put into
special needs education because of the
fact that I cried every day and was
anti-social I didn’t know the word for
that really was introvert it’s when you
think there’s something wrong with you
the world becomes terrifying and in
moments like these throughout my
childhood reading fiction was the only
thing that filled me with enough fire
with enough hope with condition that
someday I would be able to use my voice
to give the silent voices out there a
chance to be heard because I was once
that silent voice these stories they
were not only an anchor and one of the
hardest moments in my life but they were
a retelling of all that I’ve overcome
one of my favorite authors Cassandra
Clare said if you only believe facts and
forget stories your brain will live but
your heart will die you never know who
is going to meet that story that escaped
from the Intolerable somewhere out there
is someone who
your story someone who without your
story would be a different person
someone who with your story may gain
hope wisdom kindness and comfort so read
stories tell stories share stories there
is a truth that goes far beyond but we
are told today to believe in yes fiction
is composed of beautiful lives but
because you believed in it
you found something true about yourself
no reading the Harry Potter series won’t
get you into the top universities of the
world but it will teach you to love
boards to agonize over sentences to pay
attention to the world I know many
people who can read a novel and then go
about their everyday lives without that
fictional world becoming part of their
own I can’t I hear all the time it’s
just a book why don’t you pay attention
to the things that are real why do you
feel so emotional about things that
don’t exist but a book is never just a
book we pay attention to the things that
exist in storybook worlds because
reading fiction builds our capacity to
empathize empathy is the ability to
identify so intimately with another
person’s emotions that you feel as if
you’re in their skin empathy as I
learned throughout my personal project
is not something that can be taught
empathy is something that is inspired
its awakened in the soul and it allows
us to function more than just sub sub
sets in dividuals empathy in the world
we live in today where we wake up to
headlines of school shootings of acid
thrown in the faces of child brides of
kids who and your abuse from their
parents every single day is more
important than ever when reading prose
fiction you’re looking at a world
through other eyes you get to feel
things to visit places and worlds that
you would never otherwise know the point
of reading to cultivate empathy is not
to make us better it’s to make us human
these stories will haunt you forever
someday you will be reading a book and
there will be something in there that
you will want to know more about you
will be sobbing at 2:00 a.m. when one of
your favorite character dies your blood
will boil at the injustice in the novel
you will learn to care you will fall in
love with characters that you wish were
real but in that moment they were your
personal universe will begin to expand
characters aren’t merely squiggles on a
page they’re a given form and life as
much as anyone else our reactions might
be less by degrees but not different in
terms of kind when you return to your
own world you’re going to be changed you
take back with you weapons and armor you
find yourself never being able to be
entirely content with the world that you
grew up in but do not be mistaken
discontent is a good thing it pushes us
to think about how we can how we can
improve and modify our world to leave it
better healthier stronger for our next
generation so read books that affect you
like disasters books that wound and stab
you read fiction that makes you grieve
deeply like the death of someone you
loved more than yourself read because it
teaches us to see love in people it’s
time to care for everyone to care that
means we need to start out by educating
ourselves by understanding each other by
searching deep for that human connection
not just by saying I’m sorry for your
loss
I feel bad for you but to stand up get
up speak up don’t just whisper shout
don’t just be a silent witness fight
even if you don’t want to fight for
yourself fight her others there is
always someone left to fight for the
world maybe a greeting ground for
cynicism and contempt but does but that
does not mean that
we should relinquish our attempts to
love ourselves to love others to
celebrate this magical quality of our
collective consciousness called love and
that starts out by teaching our youngest
generation what it means to have empathy
what it means to care what it means to
love and the best way I believe to do
that is to teach them to love reading
tell them that they can be the Sun that
they are Suns burning bright in the sky
rattling the Stars we are all sons and
it’s time to rise thank you
you
so I know a lot of big stories stories
of superheroes that fly across oceans
and break down buildings to save the
people they love the most but at the end
they still may not be able to save who
they care about most I like to tell
stories that are smaller but no less
powerful as a kid I was labeled as shy
anxious slow when other kids were
outside playing in the Sun I sat alone
in the classroom reading when something
happened that day that made me nervous
I would burst into tears I was a crime
machine that set off whenever somebody
rattled me and then one day my teacher
sent my mom down in her classroom and
told her then I needed to be put into
special needs education because of the
fact that I cried every day and was
anti-social I didn’t know the word for
that really was introvert it’s when you
think there’s something wrong with you
the world becomes terrifying and in
moments like these throughout my
childhood reading fiction was the only
thing that filled me with enough fire
with enough hope with condition that
someday I would be able to use my voice
to give the silent voices out there a
chance to be heard because I was once
that silent voice these stories they
were not only an anchor and one of the
hardest moments in my life but they were
a retelling of all that I’ve overcome
one of my favorite authors Cassandra
Clare said if you only believe facts and
forget stories your brain will live but
your heart will die you never know who
is going to meet that story that escaped
from the Intolerable somewhere out there
is someone who
your story someone who without your
story would be a different person
someone who with your story may gain
hope wisdom kindness and comfort so read
stories tell stories share stories there
is a truth that goes far beyond but we
are told today to believe in yes fiction
is composed of beautiful lives but
because you believed in it
you found something true about yourself
no reading the Harry Potter series won’t
get you into the top universities of the
world but it will teach you to love
boards to agonize over sentences to pay
attention to the world I know many
people who can read a novel and then go
about their everyday lives without that
fictional world becoming part of their
own I can’t I hear all the time it’s
just a book why don’t you pay attention
to the things that are real why do you
feel so emotional about things that
don’t exist but a book is never just a
book we pay attention to the things that
exist in storybook worlds because
reading fiction builds our capacity to
empathize empathy is the ability to
identify so intimately with another
person’s emotions that you feel as if
you’re in their skin empathy as I
learned throughout my personal project
is not something that can be taught
empathy is something that is inspired
its awakened in the soul and it allows
us to function more than just sub sub
sets in dividuals empathy in the world
we live in today where we wake up to
headlines of school shootings of acid
thrown in the faces of child brides of
kids who and your abuse from their
parents every single day is more
important than ever when reading prose
fiction you’re looking at a world
through other eyes you get to feel
things to visit places and worlds that
you would never otherwise know the point
of reading to cultivate empathy is not
to make us better it’s to make us human
these stories will haunt you forever
someday you will be reading a book and
there will be something in there that
you will want to know more about you
will be sobbing at 2:00 a.m. when one of
your favorite character dies your blood
will boil at the injustice in the novel
you will learn to care you will fall in
love with characters that you wish were
real but in that moment they were your
personal universe will begin to expand
characters aren’t merely squiggles on a
page they’re a given form and life as
much as anyone else our reactions might
be less by degrees but not different in
terms of kind when you return to your
own world you’re going to be changed you
take back with you weapons and armor you
find yourself never being able to be
entirely content with the world that you
grew up in but do not be mistaken
discontent is a good thing it pushes us
to think about how we can how we can
improve and modify our world to leave it
better healthier stronger for our next
generation so read books that affect you
like disasters books that wound and stab
you read fiction that makes you grieve
deeply like the death of someone you
loved more than yourself read because it
teaches us to see love in people it’s
time to care for everyone to care that
means we need to start out by educating
ourselves by understanding each other by
searching deep for that human connection
not just by saying I’m sorry for your
loss
I feel bad for you but to stand up get
up speak up don’t just whisper shout
don’t just be a silent witness fight
even if you don’t want to fight for
yourself fight her others there is
always someone left to fight for the
world maybe a greeting ground for
cynicism and contempt but does but that
does not mean that
we should relinquish our attempts to
love ourselves to love others to
celebrate this magical quality of our
collective consciousness called love and
that starts out by teaching our youngest
generation what it means to have empathy
what it means to care what it means to
love and the best way I believe to do
that is to teach them to love reading
tell them that they can be the Sun that
they are Suns burning bright in the sky
rattling the Stars we are all sons and
it’s time to rise thank you
you
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