Here is another post that was written by a Palo Alto teen about a cause they care about.

Reading, writing, and words have always been important to me. I’ve spent a lot of time digesting the stories in books, and I can tell that the messages and experiences of characters have changed how I look at the world. Reading books gives people access to information all over the globe. Reading can teach people so much, especially kids, who through books can glimpse places they’ve never traveled to and meet people completely different from them.

And reading is fun!

The definition of literacy is to be able to read and write, but also “competence or knowledge in a specific area.” And this just shows how important reading is: it allows you to learn and become knowledgeable.

I think every kid should be able to read. I think every kid should have access to books. I think every kid should be able to open a book and see a character that looks like them, and also characters that are different from them. Diverse books teach people so much. It’s so satisfying to see your identity represented in a book, and it’s eye-opening to see people completely different from you, people who you’ve never thought about before. After people have these eye-opening moments, their mind will open up, too.

Little Free Library is a nonprofit seeking to establish a community of readers. They do this through a global network of book-sharing boxes. People can take books that they want and drop off books for others to read.

You might have seen one in your neighborhood. Or not. It depends where you live.

On the Little Free Library website, there’s a map that shows Little Free Libraries across the globe. I typed Palo Alto, California into the search bar, and a cluster of upside-down teardrops sprung out of the space on the map. There were too many to count, the markers overlapping. All the photos were shown: tiny painted houses stuffed to the brim with books. I had seen a few of them, but there were so many libraries I had never heard of before.

I searched up East Palo Alto, and there were only two. Two registered Little Free Libraries in the whole town.

It didn’t seem fair, not at all.

I remembered crying over a book because I cared about the characters, and I cared about the characters because I could see myself in them, and because they seemed like real people.

I remembered beaming because there was a character who was just like me in a book I was reading, and that character, despite the challenges facing them, had accomplished their goal. Seeing that character’s happy ending made me wonder: Could I do this? Could this be me?

Books had put me through so much and lifted me up so much. Literacy is important to me because I learned a lot from reading, and I think everyone should be able to have the same opportunities to read.

Reading can also help with writing, with being able to communicate your thoughts and share your own stories. I think every kid should know how to type and write by hand. I think every kid should have access to the Internet, to be able to communicate with people far away and find whatever information they need. I think every kid should have school supplies: pencils and paper and pens. I think every kid should be able to tell their own stories in their own voices.

And I think people need to listen.

Establishing a Community of Readers

Fast Fashion

Helping Those With Disabilities