Smiles, tears, jaw drops, and rapid heartbeats. I undergo all of that when reading my favourite stories. I smile at characters’ achievements, I cry when characters fall, I’m in shock when the unexpectable unexpected happens, and I panic when characters panic. I look back on moments in my life where those actions reflected my emotions. Of course, I have some emotions I would like to minimise, but without having all of them at their respective natural magnitudes, then I wouldn’t be able to grow at the best pace for me. Growth occurs every second of our lives, and I believe when I’m reading stories I momentarily grow exponentially as I’m not only witnessing characters develop themselves but am processing their development and subconsciously working on myself. I see how they tackle problems or endure struggles, and imagine how I would manage those issues in their shoes, then visualise different ways to push through whatever relatable situations I’m in. All of this happened when I read stories like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Naruto, Boy X, and Haikyuu!!. I want to be able to influence readers to feel this way through my very own manga that has my humour, memories, experiences, and feelings sewed into it. I want people to dive into the world I’ve created in my head. I want to show people other possible ways to lead their lives. There’s a joy that comes with telling a tale that impacts people’s ways of life and their pursuits. It’s on par with my weird excitement when reading the most painful of climaxes, because that pain is a sign of a potentially big positive change in the characters and us readers. Change. I undergo change when reading my favourite stories. P.S. I love seeing readers lose their minds at insane plot twists.