My Love For Reading
Every since I was a young girl I’ve loved to read. I have vague memories of when my Great Aunt Karen, a tall, big-boned lady with short brown hair, used to live with me and we would sit down and read my favorite childhood book, Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash by Sarah Weeks. Everyday we would read this book together and we both loved it because it made us laugh. To this day I still have that book at home in my bookshelf along with many other books from when I was a child all the way to my high school reads.
Reading has always been an escape to me. Often times when I read I escape into my own little world. It allows you to be creative and imaginative of the words on the pages. You can interpret writing in a variety of ways, which makes it unlike any other subject where there is a right or wrong answer. I’ve always taken a love to learning new things and it wasn’t until I started college did I realize this. I think this Is why I have and always will enjoy and appreciate books and other writing pieces so much.
My first memory of reading in school begins in my fourth grade classroom with my teacher Ms. Stanhope. Ms. Stanhope was a petite, young woman with blonde hair and she always wore khakis and clogs. Once a week our homeroom class would make a trip to the school library to check out a book and sit down to read for an hour or so (I was always into mysteries and still am now.) There was a section in the library that all the fourth graders were forbidden to go to because only “young adults” could check out those books. It wasn’t until the seventh grade I was aloud to check out and read those books. However, I was always a curious child and would buy those young adult books outside of school and read them on my free time.
In my fourth grade classroom there was a little corner next to the bathroom with book cases that had wheels on the bottom, a big rug and a comfy chair. This corner was my little sanctuary where I would always read during quiet time and rely on to choose my next book to read. That year I made it a goal to read every single book in the classroom. I would spend every chance I had both in school and outside of school to read. At the end of the year I accomplished that goal and it made both my teacher and I proud.
I had a love for poetry because It can be interpreted in a billion different ways. My favorite poetry was the Shel Silverstein collection. I had every single book in the collection except for one, Runny Babbit. It just so happens that book was in my classroom. Somehow in my little 10 year old mind I thought it would be a good idea to take the book and write my name on the cover in my black Sharpie marker to claim it. I brought the book home and set it in my bookshelf right next to the other Shel Silverstein books I had. I never did get into trouble for taking this book, but when I think back to that moment when I took that book from the class I honestly think that it was much deeper than that. I was missing something in my life and that book did not give me whatever I was in search of.
Fifth grade was when I began to notice I was caring way too much about others opinions of me. This year I had a homeroom teacher named Mrs. Draper. Mrs. Draper was in her later 50’s and had dyed blonde hair. At my middle school we were split up into communities based on our grades. I was in a fourth to sixth grade community called The Incredibles. In each community there was a science/social studies, math and English teacher. Mrs. Draper was my English teacher. That was the year that I tried out for the spelling bee team and I got in. That was a very proud moment for me because I was one of four other kids who were all honors students, and then there was me. I felt an amazing boost of confidence.
During 7th and 8th grade I had Mrs. Draper again for a homeroom teacher. This time when our class went to the library I was able to check out and read the books in the young adult section. By this time I had read most books in the section, but there were some I hadn’t and was always excited to read new titles and authors. In eighth grade we had reading groups based on a standardized test. I was always in the group with the most challenging book which always encouraged me to read more and also boosted my confidence.
Oddly enough, I was never a fan of reading books I was forced to read in school because I’ve always been stubborn. It wasn’t until the end of eighth grade that we read the book called The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton that I realized I could take a liking to any genre of book. I realized that I really enjoyed reading coming-of-age stories because I could relate to them. During this time I noticed myself changing and feeling emotions I’ve never felt before such as depressed and anxious. The most comforting thing in that point of time was to know I was not alone; to relate.
Mrs. Draper and I had a love-hate relationship. I was a class- clown and would often get into trouble with her but I now understand that my behavior was not appropriate and I deserved my consequences. One day I did something to get into trouble and I got a detention and wasn’t able to go to the school dance that night that all of my friends would be going to. I held a grudge against her for weeks after that but I eventually got over it. When I look back on it now I just laugh. I believe the reason I acted out in class was to hide my anxiety. I had severe social anxiety in middle school and was terribly afraid of a lot of people and big crowds.
I believe the reason I acted out in class was to hide my anxiety. I had severe social anxiety in middle school and was terribly afraid of a lot of people and big crowds. I knew that would be moving on to high school very shortly and would have to get over my fear. I also knew that I was in control of my own body and only I could change myself. Through Mrs. Draper’s encouragement, she helped me gain the confidence to public speak. When I arrived to high school, I could do it with no problem. If I had the chance, I would thank her on the impact she made those three years despite me being a pain.
