The Power of Reading

The Power of Reading

Back in the misty mountains of Munich, Germany, all the grade-school teachers would tell my parents how impressed they were with my performance in school and how well I was able to read at such a young age.

Most parents would react to this news with pure joy and would take their child out for Ice cream, but not my parents. They bought me the first book of the “Harry Potter” series; The Sorcerer’s Stone. I did want to act polite and show my gratitude to this wonderful purchase but, I was terrified. Up until then, the majority of books read were German with the occasional English story flung into the mix. Never before had I read a book of that size, especially not in my second language. I was hesitant to even open up the first page.

On the first day of summer in 2001, my parents managed to tell me straight-faced that the whole family would be relocating to Florida. One slight problem remained; I did not speak fluent English and my younger brother wasn’t even able to communicate properly in German yet, never mind English.

My parents gave me strict instructions and I wasn’t allowed to leave my room before I finished the book. For an 11-year-old whose last summer with all his friends was screaming past outside, I had to get the ball rolling in a swift direction. My brain kicked into English mode and I dove into the first page.

The words fell from the page like raindrops from a dark sky. Overwhelmed with foreign-looking words the tears began to roll down my cheeks and I figured my summer was as good as gone. My mom heard sobbing from across the house so she strolled into my room, ripped the book out of my hands, and began to read out-loud. Observing the words on the page as they were flowing out of mom’s mouth so eloquently drove my desire of finishing the book through the roof.

After ten minutes of hearing the words while also reading them alongside my mom, I felt a surge of confidence flow through me. I was ready to do this on my own and it was going to happen. No doubt about it. Towards the end of the day, the book was sprawled out on the floor and I was half-way through the second book. I had my breakthrough moment and I was a God among Kings.

Since that day, I see the beauty of written words. No matter what language it might be in, the written word paints a picture just like a painters brush. The piece of ink on a page is the foundation of a masterpiece and all it needs is an author.

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Collin Wellenreiter

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Free spirit with an open mind. I thoroughly enjoy reading, writing and photography. If you haven’t tried it you don’t know if you like it.