Personal Narrative: How Reading Changed My Life

I strongly believe when some people grow up they lose interest in reading books, you can see the many people that don’t like reading in our schools, because most of us are on our phones and reading articles. I mainly read on my phone and I enjoy that more because the articles are short and to the point quicker. Phones have changed on how much I value actual books.

James Patterson perfectly sums up my lengthy, arduous, and ever-changing relationship with reading. "There is no such thing as a kid who hates reading. There are kids who love reading, and kids who are reading the wrong books." As I grow older, and come to appreciate the influence that words have over the human mind and soul, this quote resonates with me more deeply. The interpretation of words has had an immense impact over my life, and is something I will be forever indebted to.

My literacy journey had begun earlier than most kids, according to my mother. I started reading in kindergarten, with help with the BOB books and the PBS show Between the Lions. I don’t know when I had started writing exactly, but I remember clearly writing short stories about my cat Stormy in 3rd grade. At that time we had to write weekly short stories, and I only ever wrote about my cat. In 4th grade, I had started exploring writing more; I would write plays for me and my friends to practice during recess. Most of them, I’m happy to say, were actually educational, so my teacher had even let my friends and I perform one about early-American settlers in front of our whole class.

In all honesty, I don't remember a lot about becoming literate. I didn't have a special moment or time when I knew that reading or writing going to take me somewhere. According to my mom she started to read to me when I was one, so there wasn't anything that could've excelled me much farther before going into kindergarten. One of the requirements in elementary school was to read every night which I believe was an important factor of me improving my literacy. Reading and writing used to me excite me because I would immerse myself into a book or write a whole new universe on a page. I made reading and writing something personal to me. I now realize that every book and every piece of writing can be worthwhile in one way or another.

When I think about moments that have defined my education, a few particular moments come to mind. These include when I learned to count, when I mastered multiplication, and when I memorized the quadratic formula. But perhaps the most important moment in my education was when I first learned how to read. However, being able to read almost became something I hated and dreaded doing. Luckily, one moment prevented that misfortune from happening.

When I was a small child my mother had a book about letters and tried to teach me about letters before I was even in school. I can barely remember the book but it had letters you could trace and sound out. It was all fine and dandy till my mother took the teaching to extreme levels. I didn’t really like learning from my mom because every time I was trying to pronounce “ou” and “ow” she would pinch me. Eventually I grew tired and decided I needed to take action. Because of her brutal teaching ways, I finally decided I did not want to read and write so I hid the book my mom used for teaching. The problem was solved for a little while though after a long time I felt like I was missing out on everything so I decided

Have you ever had to do something that you absolutely hate, but have to do it anyway? That is how I feel about reading. It is not that I hate to read, I just have a hard time finding time to read. As well as, I have a hard time finding a book that grabs and keeps my attention. I love the idea of curling up with a good book, but it reality I just cannot seem to make it happen. To me, reading requires time, effort, and discipline.

As Vickie Karp once said, “When we read, we start at the beginning and continue until we reach the end. When we write, we start in the middle and fight our way out.” At an early age, writing gave solace. My first exposure to writing was through journaling. In my elementary years, my parents separated, leaving my brother and me in the eye of the storm. At the age of ten, I only understood so much, but I did know how much my mother and father detested each other on a regular basis. Objects and harsh words established the darkness and fear in the corner of my mind. Once father left home, before I even had a chance to say goodbye, I felt abandoned and alone. The anxiety of my mother leaving me and struck with depression of already been abandoned

A child learns his/her first word from a mother. She teaches her children how to take an initial step in reading and writing. I have different experiences in the journey of literacy. I remembered how my mother used to teach me mathematical tables to strengthen my reading. It was my first lesson of reading. Afterward, comes my teacher who polishes me as a reader and a writer. In my journey of literacy, I remembered how a page of a book in English class helps me to strengthen writing and reading ability; furthermore, it creates love for reading in me. For me, a book is a doctor and reading is a medicine which treats during the time of

The beginning of the end of my reading days can all be traced back to a young, childish eighth grader receiving the brand-new iPhone 4S. As I sat there in awe of the gadget sitting in front of me packed full of brand new features such as the always useful Siri, I did not realize that within all of the bright flashing lights and constant buzzing there lay hidden a plethora of distractions called apps. I quickly lost myself in the world of the app store. Night after night I stayed up scouring the market for the latest games. Night after night I neglected to glance at the books stacked on my dresser. I stopped reading altogether. Something that had seemed completely impossible a few months prior had very much become my reality.

This story is about how my reading and writing changed throughout my life going through school. When I started in kindergarten I couldn’t spell my name that well. I had trouble reading and writing, and it took me so long to understand what I was doing wrong because I’m a person that thinks that I’m always right and never wrong. As I went through elementary school, I had a problem with writing neatly, writing in complete sentences, and reading big words. When I was in elementary school I was a student that didn’t like to write during unless it was about something that interested me. Other than that the only time I wrote was when I was required to for school. As each of those five years went by I hated writing in a way, but I hated reading even more with each year that went by. The reason I hated writing during elementary school so much was because

By the time that I was twelve, I discovered that I love to read. It is the best pass time that I could find to do. Every time I open up a book it's as if I'm in my own world, a place of bliss. Like I'm watching a movie in my head but I'm the director. I find it easier to read in complete silence that way my thoughts can echo out much further and louder. One of the things that I usually do is stop in the page that I'm reading in and start asking myself questions and try to foreshadow what I might believe will happen at the end.

All I could remember on my journey to literacy was my concern over my brother and sister’s ability to read and write including solving math problems. That did not really motivate not to become literate; I was extremely playful as a child. What I am able to remember is my first day of school, I cried like a baby when my mom dropped me off. I soon began to grow out of my baby stage and school became really interesting. Even though it was not as hard as it is now, the value that pushed me to be literate was how my teacher was able to discipline students if they didn’t give the best to their education.

I believe education is to help and mold a child's creative mind that would eventually help them become strong leaders in life based off the foundation they learn in school.

I still remember the day my love for reading really kicked off. I was in the second grade, and my mother was letting me play hooky. Naturally, the first place I wanted to go to was the harbor, or more specifically, Barnes & Noble. My mom had only recently started taking me there due to my habit of never wanting to give back the books I borrowed from the library. We walked in, and I immediately went upstairs to the children’s section, while my mother sat in the café area and waited for me to return so that she could tell me how many books I would have to put back. I wandered to the far back area of the children’s section. I don’t know what originally drew me to the thin, teal book, but I had it in my hands before I knew it. “One Day at Horrorland,” I read out loud. A green monster with gnarled horns and red eyes peered at me from behind a sign that read, “WELCOME TO HORRORLAND WHERE NIGHTMARES COME TO LIFE!” I ran my thumb against the