Books are essential to everyday life. They provide entertainment to the masses. They allow students to learn without teachers. They can contain anything that someone might want to read. Books have shaped my life and made me the person I am today. Just as Sherman Alexie found his calling as a child in books and reading, books taught me things that teachers couldn’t and were there for my learning when no one else could be.
When I was in kindergarten, I was the only child in my class who didn’t know how to read. I had grown up listening to stories, weaved into my imagination by my parents. When I found out that I would be able to read those stories ourselves, I was stunned. Every day in class, I would try my best to learn and catch up with my peers. Day after day I left class feeling more and more hopeless in my attempts. A wrong vowel. A bad pronunciation. A long word. I was nearly ready to give up, when at last, I made a breakthrough. I finished my first book, a thin paperback copy of Dick and Jane. The fact that the book couldn’t have been more than five pages was irrelevant, I had tasted the Lotus, and would never go without it again. From that day on, my school and home life were filled with reading. I finished all the Dick and Jane books, so I started reading short picture books. I finished the short picture books, and started reading Curious George. I finished Curious George and started reading novels. The pages sang to me, painted pictures of faraway lands, heroes, and
My memories are blurry. They are fragments of disjointed moments, without a linear narrative. I remember reading. It was in Mrs. Davidson first grade class. My reading proficiency skills were very poor, the English language still thick and unnatural on my tongue. While some of the other students took a Gifted class, I had to take a remedial course—English Learners (EL)— just so that I could hold onto the edge. I remember reading. I had a hard copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar in my little hands, reciting only the first page of the book from memory. The classroom was dark; the stream of sunlight filtering through the windows served as our only illumination. The rest of the words on the book looked like a mess of jumbled letters. I couldn’t make out anything other than the words “the” and “and.” I remember enthusiastically pointing out my “fluency” to my teacher, seemingly applauding my menial abilities: “The catpater at droo!” (The caterpillar ate through). In the first-grade, my free time was spread sporadically between watching The Little Mermaid, catching ugly black crickets and pretending that I was Sailor Moon, guardian of the galaxy. In the first grade, I was not at all concerned with words, literacy and books. In the first grade, I did not know the power that words hold. I did not know that books would change my life.
I am sitting at my work desk reading an autobiography called the Blood of the Lambs, and I ponder about the amount of time having passed since I have sat down to a nice personal evening with a book. Upon reflection, I realize that the path I took to learning to read wasn’t an easy one and involved time, effort, and hard work.
The thin rustic pages scrape past my loose fingers as I sit engaged. My heart pounds harder and faster with every word my eyes pass over. My ears hear nothing, even within booming noise. My complete focus is on the book that lays in my hand with a laminated cover, and I have no choice but to submit to the content. My breath tastes of spearmint and the aroma of fresh paper floats past my nose. I couldn’t resist but delve into the worlds and mysteries that books hold. Once opened, everything around me becomes a distant blur. I am hooked. Books have always created an escape for creativity and fancies to run free. Books are used as a medium for reason. Books are formative to the development of human beings. In my instance, books changed my life.
“But grandma i've already read it twice!” i groaned in protest, i had just read the same sentence for the third time. My five year old self was more concerned about the bugs outside and flowers i could pick. However my grandma was not, every time i visited we would sit in the living room me right next to her and go page by page of the book Dick and Jane. I would stumble upon each word and rush to get through. i anticipated each turn of a page because i was one step closer to the book being set down and getting to play. At the time i didn't realize that the turn of the page meant i was actually one step closer to learning how to read. It took several times to get one page down but when i did i was proud, a couple of sentences slowly made me
Some time after the arrival of my first child, I thumbed through my favorite book from my childhood. As I began reading the book I discovered the story was unfamiliar. Gradually, it occurred to me my mother had made up the majority of the words when she read to me. My mother never hid that she was functionally illiterate from people, as I was tasked often with the duty of reading information aloud to her. However, on that day, holding that book, at that moment, it finally occurred to me that my illiterate mother had actually taught me to read. She couldn't tell me what all the words said, but she instilled the language in my young mind, and encouraged my fondness of literature. I vowed on that day, to be the last martyr of educational failure,
I had to stop solely focusing on math and start trying to improve on my reading and writing. For the longest time, I avoided reading the classics because I was afraid I wouldn’t understand them or they were boring. I had always read for pleasure and even considered myself a bookworm at one point. The problem was that I had only read “brainless” books, books that were easy reading. I started with what looked to me as the simplest, shortest book: Animal Farm. The book took me two hours to finish. After reading it, I thought to myself, that wasn’t too bad. I felt proud that I had decided to start reading those types of books. The next few books I read were similar in level and length. I decided that I would try to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It took me a long time to fully comprehend what I read and I couldn’t make myself read the book for more than a few hours a day. When I finally finished, I jumped up and ran to tell my older sister, the real bookworm of my family, the good news. I was even more excited to tell her how my reading score jumped 100 points after I had taken a practice
Reading and writing are essential to any humans’ way of life. From the ages of 3 to 6 my mom had read to me every night before bedtime. The stories she had read to me ranged from fairytales to Dr. Seuss. The first chapter book I remember reading was in 1st grade. The teacher allowed us access to one book from her bookshelf. I chose Kristy’s Big Day from The Babysitters Club collection. I took such a huge liking to it that I begged my mom to buy me a collection of the books, which now reside at my aunt’s house. It took me the whole summer to a set of 15 books. While, I was in 3rd grade I began to write poetry. I showed my teacher some of the poems and she thought they were so incredible that she wanted me to write more,
My mother claimed I needed to learn to read before second grade began, and trapped me in is a single activity. Instead of doing my favored activities I compliantly allowed the rough carpet to press indentations into my skin as I began to read. The book’s smooth cover clung to my fingertips as I looked for meaning in the indecipherable syllables. I sat with water threatening to spill from my eyes, lost in a sea of letters with waves of words battering me from all sides. However, I blinked and tentatively pressed my lips into the hum of a “m”. I searched the depths of my mind for the meaning of the next letter, letting the hum trail into eternity. Once again, I identified the letter with time and opened my mouth to the sound of an “a”. Instinctively, I looked to my mother for aid in my plight, as I desperately wracked my mind for the sound of the last letter. With her help, I
Everyday life can be a difficult and amorphous concept to grapple with. This essay will consider the various aspects of Scott's definition of what "Everyday life" is and to what extent I agree with it. In its most simplistic and stripped down form, Scott's suggests that it's a study of 'people doing little things in local places' or more succinctly 'the wider picture' (Scott, 2009, p1). Everyday life can also be viewed as a person seeking solace in the familiarity of repetitive and rhythmic routines (Scott, 2009). Scott's final assertion is that everyday life exists in the realm of a person's individual and private choices, which have a bearing on that person's patterns of behaviour (Scott, 2009).
In the end, I find books to be a valuable source of information and beliefs that cannot, and should not, be bound by the chains of selfishness. Furthermore, people are privileged to read and express their thoughts in freedom. Thus, I believe that a person’s choice of books should never be affected by anyone and should be chosen accordingly by the person
How can you make changes in your daily life? Many people have struggled on how to change their life. Daily life can be busy. Slight changes may be hard, but it can lead to good things. Some people do not know how to do that and others are afraid of the future. If they change their lives, some people do not have goals in life and they do not want to change it. So, I want to share some tips that will help you to achieve this goal., I want to help you to know how to arrange your life better and use time wiser, how to make a more peaceful life for yourself, and how to be an example to your closest people and the community.
How can you make changes to your daily life? Many people have struggled on how to change their life. Daily life can be busy. Slight changes may be hard but it can lead to good things. Some people do not know how to do that and others are afraid of the future. If they change their lives, some people do not have goals in life and they do not want to change it. So, I want to share some tips that will help you to achieve this goal. First, you need to find an unhealthy habit in your daily life like spending a long time on social media. Social media is not very bad if we use it in a beneficial way but, not for a very long time, as this will be reflected in your life. It will take you away from real life like your family. It is stealing time that you can use for yourself and your family. In this article, I want to help you onto know how to arrange your life better and use time wiser, how to make a more peaceful life for yourself, and how to be an example to your closest people and the community. Your past life can bring stress to your present if you keep it living with you. Like if something negative from the past- something someone said, something someone did is still in your mind that will bring stress to your present life. Some people are still living in the past and have regrets about what happened or what was planned. Some people were unable to pass the circumstances in their past life.
Every choice we make in our daily lives can positively or negatively affect who we are and what we do. What if one day you decide to go help out at a local charity event? Maybe the next day something good will happen to you. On the other hand, say you have one of those moment that almost every young child has and you tell your mother or father you hate them or wish you did not have to see them anymore. What if that really came true? How would you feel? Now I cannot speak for you but I know from personal experience that that feeling is the the worst feeling you could imagine.
Many people have struggled on how to change their life. Daily life can be busy, hectic and sometimes overwhelming. But, it does not have to be that way. Small and smart changes can bring in both small and over time big rewards. Some people do not know how to do that and others are afraid of the future. If they change their lives, some people do not have goals in life and they do not want to change it. First, you need to find an unhealthy habit in your daily life like spending a long time on social media. Social media is not very bad if we use it in a beneficial way but, not for a very long time, as this will be reflected in your life. It will take you away from real life like your family. It is stealing time that you can use it for yourself and your family. In this article, I want to help you onto know arrange your life better and use time wiser, how to make a more peaceful life for yourself, how to be an example to your closest people and the community. Your past life can bring stress to your present if you keep it living with you. Like if something negative from the past- something someone said, something someone did is still in your mind that will bring stress to your present life. Some people are still living in the past and have regrets about what happened or what was planned. Some people were unable to pass the circumstances in their past life.
In our everyday life we encounter different relationships: friends, best friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, family, and other people. We tend to want real friends that are caring and all that. I want to know when passing in our everyday life, how do you know what you are doing is right or wrong especially in relationships? Just keep in mind “passing” means that you are not being who you actually are. Throughout our lives, we tend to have many best friends or friends. That friend is inclined to care for you and be there for you, right? After time has passed, at the end of the day you don’t know if they are true friends or not? What are true friends? That friend was so close to you, but after a while had drifted away or maybe because steh