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You may think she has it all, but Roswell star Shiri Appleby was once embarrassed by the fact that she didn't finish college. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, the beautiful actress decided to tackle her problem head-on!

Shiri Appleby on Overcoming Insecurities

"I had to leave college to start working on Roswell. But I didn't want to feel like I wasn't up to par with my friends intellectually. That's why I'm a big supporter of reading. I haven't been in school for three years. I haven't been in lectures, listening to teachers feed me information. I've had to figure out what it is I'm interested in so I could have conversations with people and have facts to back up my opinions.

In high school, I always felt like when a teacher told me to read something, it was almost like a chore. But now, when I read those same books, I appreciate them. I finished reading The Great Gatsby, and everyone I talked to read it in high school, but I never did. Maybe I was assigned it and I just read the Cliff Notes or maybe I felt like I didn't have to read it. Now, four years later, I feel so left out because I haven't read all of these books that everyone says they read in high school.

It's not only a matter of feeling left out -- you start to see reading as a gift because you're not worried about what questions will be on the test. Instead, you're just reading fantastic pieces of literature.

Every book I read teaches me something about life and helps me get a better understanding of who I am as a person. I remember reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings growing up. I really identified with that book, because it was about a young girl going through so much pain and it helped to put my life into perspective. And then there are times in my life when I'm yearning to fall in love, and all I have to do is pick up a book. Reading gets you to see life in different ways and helps you learn more about things you actually care about."

The first book Shiri read cover to cover was Charlotte's Web which seemed like a 700-page novel at the time, but now is one of her favorite classics. "It's the only way to better yourself and get knowledge from other people without being in a school setting."

December 2000
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