Freshman Molly Wolffis, while not a huge fan of volleyball, used to frequent the courts quite a lot for her sister’s games; however, she wasn’t paying attention to the games as much as she was delving into a different world, unaware of the sport playing around her.

“When I was younger,” Molly said, “if I ever had to go to a place for a long time, like my sister’s volleyball games, I would always bring a book with me and sit there and read. Somehow, I could focus with all of the people [around me].”

Not only does this show Molly’s impressive concentration skills, it also demonstrates how dedicated she is to reading. Molly has adored reading ever since reading the Unwanted series, a dystopian fantasy by Lisa McMann, when she was in fifth grade. She appreciates how reading books allows her to see other people’s points of view throughout the story.

Reading is a wonderful way to get this effect; rather than assuming what other people are going through, Molly reads in order to better understand their situations and circumstances.

“I like the way you can look into the world through another person’s perspective,” Molly said. “It allows you to see things that you might not get to see in your life. And I think it allows you to have more empathy because you can understand how other people might be experiencing life.”

Lately, Molly has been into nonfiction, historical fiction, and fantasy books. One book that she would recommend to everyone is I was Born for This, written by Alice Oseman. This is a young adult fiction book that Molly cherishes. 

Acknowledging that not everybody had the same adoration for reading that she does, Molly believes it’s just because they have not found the right book yet. She welcomes anyone in this situation to go to her for a few recommendations that will hopefully end their reading slump. 

“When people say they don’t like reading,” Molly said, “I personally think they just need to find something they would enjoy. So if anyone ever needs any book recommendations, then come to me. I think it’s really important to be able to see the world through other people’s eyes.”

Having a broad perspective on life is critical to appreciating everything life has to offer; Molly recognizes this and reads books to do it. Reading allows Molly to be more open-minded. Instead of jumping to conclusions as to why someone is acting a certain way, she goes through practical answers that she read about to better understand their actions.

“When you read books about other people who are in different situations than you are,” Molly said, “who might be in a different country than you, you can sort of see what it’s like: where they live, how they live, and the reasons for doing what they do. I find more often that when someone is acting in a certain way, I can be like, ‘Why are they acting like that? Well, maybe it’s because of this thing that I read about.’”

Empathy is an extremely important emotion for people to experience; reading is a fast and enjoyable way to better achieve it. Molly has consistently seen this; she reads for more than simply the entertainment aspect, she also reads for the larger sense of compassion that comes with it.

“I’m usually just sitting in my room,” Molly said, “chilling, and I’ll read for an abnormally long amount of time. Read books, it’s good. It’s a nice escape—or not an escape if you’re reading about difficult subjects, but then it’s still important. And, have fun.”