Reading has always been an integral part of what makes up the definition of who I am as a person. When someone asks you what you are good at, most likely you will not even think to mention that you are a good reader. In truth, reading is one of the greatest skills that you can possess, it is a skill that most of us learn at a young age, and it is also one of the greatest and most helpful tools that we will make use of for the entirety of our lives.
For all of us, the process of language acquisition begins the day that we are born. However, the process of learning to read is a skill that is acquired through a lot of hard work and practice. I was very fortunate to have the family that I do because they have always made reading and learning a vital part of my life. From the very beginning my parents and my family have read me stories, interesting articles in magazines and newspapers, and anything that I went running to them with asking them to read it to me. My family always made sure that they took the time to help me with anything that I threw at them in my quest to read. I specifically remember being about 3 or 4 years old and sitting at the desk in my bedroom with a pencil and paper and making scribble after scribble and then running to my parents or my older brothers and asking them if my scribbles spelled anything. This may seem ridiculous, but my family always humored me and told me that I had almost spelled something, so I always kept trying. When I was given this assignment I thought it would be beneficial to talk to my mom and dad about how I learned to read. According to them, I was always very enthusiastic and willing to learn. My mom told me that she always had to read everything to me because if she did not I would keep asking her what it said until she would give in and tell me. Because of all this help and my own eagerness to learn, I had a great advantage when I was finally old enough to attend school. By the time I reached Kindergarten I already had the basics of reading figured out. I was able to read small books, Cat in the Hat books for example, and I was able to do this because I was able to sound out words and recognize patterns. After a few more years of instruction both in and out of school, I became a very good reader. I would read almost anything that I could find, but mystery novels, like Nancy Drew, were my absolute favorite kinds of books to read. I have always had a library card and have taken full advantage of it.
All throughout my childhood and my teenage years I always read both in and out of school. I would use every opportunity I could to sit down and relax and immerse myself in a good book. In my opinion it is so much healthier for your imagination to get really involved in a book, to paint your own vision of what the characters and settings look like, than it is to sit in front of the television set for hours. When I reached my high school years, I fell in love with the sense of accomplishment I would get from finishing a large novel. At one point I would only read novels written by one author, Danielle Steele. If anyone can write a romance/mystery/drama, Danielle Steele can. Her writing style is so clever that no matter how many of her novels I read, she is never predictable. While in high school I was offered a job working at the town’s library, and contrary to popular belief libraries are not boring. To this very day my job at the library has been the best job that I have ever had; there is nothing better than to get paid to read!
Now that I am a college student, most of the reading that I do is for assigned readings in my courses. I would love to be able to read for pleasure because there are so many books that I have been dying to read, but unfortunately being a full time student and working full time does not leave much time for me to do anything that I enjoy. If I had more spare time, I would read some of the novels by an author named Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I read one of his novels in a past Spanish class of mine and I thought he was an interesting writer. I have taken several Spanish literature classes and I have developed an interest in these authors.
Reading has played a major role in shaping me into the person that I have become today. My enthusiasm for reading and learning helped me to be an honor roll student all throughout my school years. I even graduated with an Academic Honors Diploma which helped me to be accepted to Indiana University. Reading will always be an important factor in my life because it is a skill that I will always need and use for everything I do. The passion that I have for reading will undoubtedly be passed on to my future students. My interests in Spanish authors and literature will be well worth my time to share with my students. I just hope that they will appreciate and enjoy reading as much as I have.
Reading is one of the few things that is both a necessity as well as a pleasurable experience. My experiences with learning to read have always been positive and enjoyable. I will admit that there were a few times when I was first beginning to learn that I felt I would never be able to understand because there were so many sounds and different rules to memorize. I never gave up, and most importantly my parents and family never allowed me to be discouraged, and as a result of this I have become the successful reader that I am today.
Katherine
