When You Think You're A Character In A Book...

There's nothing like the excitement of finding a book that's so well written, it feels as if you are actually there, experiencing everything along with the main character. Whether you're re-reading your favorite classic, or pulling an all-nighter to finish an exciting page-turner, as a reader you understand the power of well-crafted words. Even if you're in a dimly lit bedroom in the middle of the night, huddled under the covers and wearing Pride and Prejudice pajamas, an amazing book can completely transport you to another world. Suddenly, you're reading the story of a warrior princess racing through a desert on a quest to find a magical something or other, and you can just FEEL the weight of her armor and the heat of the otherworldly sun.

But what happens if you — gasp — read too much? What happens when you stop relating to the characters in books, and you start thinking that you are a character in a book? After a certain point, you can no longer close the cover and go back to your old life. It's too late. Once you decide that YOU'RE the true warrior princess, there's no going back, and you will slowly start to notice the little things you do when you lead a literary life.

You Think Of Yourself As The Protagonist

You are Elizabeth Bennet always. You're also the Harry Potter, Frodo, and Katniss Everdeen of your life. And the fact that everyone thinks of themselves as the main character doesn't sway you from adamantly believing it about yourself.

You Fall In Love With Fictional Characters

When people ask you about your perfect SO, you probably give the description of a fictional character, and you're totally fine with that. And not only are you in love with a fictional character, but you also have fictional best friends that you have to visit from time to time by rereading their book series.

Books Can Affect Your Mood, Even When You're Not Currently Reading

You're so emotionally invested in all your favorite series, that they directly affect your mood — if something good happens, you're euphoric for the rest of the day. If you remember Jo and Laurie and how they should have been together, you suddenly start crying in the middle of the sidewalk.

Your Personality Is a Conglomerate of Book Characters'

Each time you finish a new novel, you hold on to a bit of the characters, until you don't remember who you were before you started reading. Where does Matilda Wormwood end and you begin? You may never know.

Your Memories Are Categorized Into Chapters

When someone asks you about your time in elementary school, you automatically think about that as "Book 1." The phrase "turning to a new page" is one of your favorite things to say.

You Use The Situations of Fictional Characters to Give People Advice In Real Life

All your friends think you're the wisest person they've ever met, because you always seem to know what to say or do when they come to you for advice. How should they handle a tough situation at work? How can they get the guy? What should they say during an important job interview? You know all the answers, and your friends never need to know that it's all coming from Jane Austen novels.

Sometimes You Forget If Something Happened In Real Life, or If You Read It Somewhere

Remember that one time you were sitting around reading with your sister, and then you started following a rabbit, and you fell into another land? Oh wait, that might have been a book, actually...

Sometimes You Do Crazy Things Just for The Story

You're no passive protagonist. Once in a while, you like to go a little wild, just for the sake of the adventure... forget "do it for the vine." You "do it for the plot twist."

...and You're Really Good At Recounting Your Adventures

Although you've been accused of over-embellishment, you love telling stories about everything you've seen. Everything has a bit of a dramatic spin when you're the narrator. And even if you sometimes confuse it with the story you're reading, you know your friends will let it slide.

When People Go Off Script, You Don't Know What To Do

Often, you play out exactly how a conversation will go as if it were a scene in a book... and then someone says something you weren't expecting. Leaving you completely at a loss for words. Who said everyone could just go off script?

You Sometimes Wonder If You're An Unreliable Narrator

Usually, you do a pretty good job of observing everything in an unbiased, adventurous protagonist way. But once in a while, you wonder if you're an unreliable narrator, and it makes you question everything.

Little Things Seem Significant

You've seen the same guy at the coffee shop every day. Is he your soulmate? Is he destined to be your greatest foe? Is he about to tell you that you're actually a wizard??? Everything seems significant because foreshadowing, duh.

You Get Excited When Other People Are Also Caught Up In Fictional Worlds

When you actually find other people who are just as obsessed with books as you are, and they ALSO think that they're a character in a book, you freak out just a little bit.

You Keep Expecting To Fall Down A Rabbit Hole

...or FINALLY get your Hogwarts letter, or discover that you're a long lost heiress from another era, or get bitten by a radioactive firefly and become the greatest crime fighter of all time. One of these days, it's GOING to happen.

No Matter What, You'll Always Believe In The Magic Of Books

When it comes down to it, books are real for you, and you know how much of an impact a story can have. You don't have to live just one fairy tale, because you get to live a new one every time you crack the cover on a new book.

Image: Walt Disney Studios(1), Giphy(14), fdelopera/Tumblr(1)