Standing Up For Bookworms

The whole class stood still, but I wanted to step up. One day, my teacher instructed us all to participate in a game where you stand in line and step up if a certain question applies to who you are, and step back if it doesn't. The teacher said step up if you love to read. As I looked down the line of my 25 classmates, I noticed that everyone was still -- like lumps. A lot of my peers complain when it's time for silent reading, calling it stupid and boring. A lot of them act like they do it just so they won't get a detention. From the age of two I've always been a reader. I devour a new book each week. So why did I become one of those lumps and not move up? I felt like a traitor to my own identity. I was afraid that if I stepped up, all of the things people say about reading would be directed towards me. But if I could go back to that game, I would step forward to set an example for those whose biggest critics are themselves.