Reading is an escape.  Or it can be.  What if reading is a struggle for you, and you can't have the joy of curling up with a book?  I couldn't imagine how I would have survived my childhood without this solace.  My best friend and I would would take turns buying the next Babysitter's Club or Sweet Valley Twins book.  Then we would trade.  I loved the ability to transport to a whole new world and leave my world behind.  I still love this to this day.   This is why I am a Literacy Specialist.  I want to do everything I can to give this gift to my students.  I'm not saying that the journey will be the same for everyone.  It is quite possible, that some of my students will never consider reading as an escape, rather to them it will be something they are trying to figure out how to escape from. Over the past few years I have made a transformation in how I view reading.  If you are immersed in a story, whether it is being read to you by your parent or your ear buds are in listening to what we used to call a "book on tape," or doing my version of curling up with a book then you are getting that chance to dream with your eyes open.  This is the passion I have inside of me that I try to pass on to my students.  I find a way in and I help them to discover the joy of reading.  This past week I wrote about my superpower as an educator and I recalled that it is my ability to connect and hand a book (or digital text) to a student so they too can travel to worlds only their hearts can dream of. I couldn't ask for a better superpower.