Growing up, many of my friends were characters in books. In middle school and high school, most of my classmates hated English class and assigned readings. There were some whom tolerated reading, but few that really loved it the way I did. 

It wasn't until college that I found others like myself. At last, here were people who felt as impassioned and excited about literature! As I got to know these people and took literature courses, I began to realize that my passion for reading had stemmed moreso from a love of words: 

Printed words.

Scribbled words.

Silly words.

Obscure words.

The history of words.

Word-play...