When I asked my mom why she read to me when I was little, her answer was surprisingly simple. "It's what you're supposed to do with kids," she said. I can't attribute my love of reading to my mom's comprehension of basic parenting alone, since my mom also read to my sister and she despises reading, but it was definitely a factor. Maybe I was genetically disposed to enjoy reading, maybe being the oldest child made me more inclined to sit still and listen, maybe I just subconsciously chose to like books at a young age. Whatever the case may be, there's no denying the truth that I have always absolutely loved books. There's a photo of me as a baby—I couldn't be more than two years old—and I already had a book clenched between my two chubby …show more content…
My mom would read me picture books here and there throughout the day, but my dad only performed per request. I liked hearing stories enough that I would beg my dad to read to me, especially at bedtime, when I would insist on not just one, but two or three books. Eventually, I showed some initiative and decided to "read" the books on my own. I would look at the pictures, then make up a story to match them, which introduced me to the creative process that I would later utilize in my writing. If I was proud of the story I created, I would recite the book for whatever unsuspecting victim was closest. With a wide smile and bright eyes, I would essentially ambush my parents with a book in hand. After I was finished telling a story, which probably involved princesses or monsters and no doubt had numerous plot holes, I would bounce up and down as I eagerly awaited their reaction. "Great job, kiddo," my dad would say as he planted a kiss on the top of my head. My mom would smile and offer me a cookie as a reward for the tales that I spun from my picture books. I would look at any book that was set in front of me, but like any reasonable human, I liked some books more than others and wanted to read my favorites over and over again. My parents would always graciously comply with my incessant requests. I loved all of the Dr. Seuss books, but Dr. Seuss's …show more content…
I used to constantly read, anytime I had a few spare minutes I would open up a book. It didn't matter where I was, which has actually proved to be slightly problematic. I have absolutely no idea where anything is because I always brought my book along in the car. One specific incident illustrates this perfectly. When I was in seventh grade, my dad, my sister, and I were going to go to my grandma's house. My dad had to stop at someone's house first, I didn't know who or why, and I didn't particularly care to know. The only thing I wanted to know is how Frodo completed his quest. So there I was, reading The Lord of the Rings, and the car rolled to a stop. My dad got out and did whatever mundane adult business he had to attend to. My sister fidgeted and tried to distract me, but by this point I had perfected the art of blocking out annoying younger siblings. When my dad returned to the car, my sister immediately asked if she could walk the rest of the way, and my dad said she could. I didn't want to get left out, but I wasn't overly eager to drag my book on a cross-country hike, which is perfectly reasonable considering that the book was approximately the size of a small fridge. I lifted my head up and saw a little white house in front of a cornfield, then asked "Can you drop me off when we get closer?" I was left utterly confused by the uproar of laughter that I received in
My parents have always stressed the importance of reading. Throughout my whole life, they have motivated me to read and they have encouraged me to find books that I find interesting to read. Because of their encouragement, I am an avid reader today. When I was a child, just starting to enjoy reading I liked to read books that were fiction. Some of my favorite books to read as a child are series that I still love today and I think I still have every book in each series stored in my attic. They are The Boxcar Children, Junie B. Jones, and The Magic Tree House.
Instead of mom reading children’s books to me, I read them to her. And if I stumbled upon something I didn’t know or understand, mom helped me out! Soon enough I started reading to her without stuttering of not knowing how to say a word. I started being able to sound out words easier and my fluency became much better than before. First grade came around and I started reading bigger books such as Junie B. Jones and also the Magic Treehouse books. Books became easier to read as I aged and the books I read were getting bigger and bigger. In 5th and 6th grade I read The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire, and The Serpents Shadow, a trilogy called The Kane Chronicles written by Rick Riordan. I thought these three books were the greatest three books ever written! I even thought they were better than the hunger games! Especially with the series being based around Egyptian gods and theology, and also managed to tie in kids around my age that I could relate to. Those books made me love reading more than I ever have and I would read them again if I had the time to. Once 8th grade came out along I decided to read a “big boy” book: DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. I thought I was so cool because I was reading a book that my parents have read. It has been the best book I have yet to read so far because it sparked my interest from the first sentence, to the last, there was intense suspense throughout the whole book and I could nonstop
My dad taught me that books could be my teachers, my mom taught me that our backyard could be my classroom, and my sister showed me that you could bring books into the swimming pool. I did not know it when I would spend hours in the pool reading a book that my parents weren’t encouraging it in vain, but my family life, for good reason, was centered on books. We were the planets orbiting around one sun that was the bookshelf. Little did I know that books would be the catalyst to academic success in my early life, and I owe it all to my family. Although a life with a book in your nose might seem boring, I was never bored. Living through the characters vicariously, I explored Narnia with Lucy, attended Hogwarts with Harry, and rode dragons with Eragon. Of course
As a child, I have always been fond of reading books. My mother would read to me every single night before I went to bed and sometimes throughout the day. It was the most exciting time of the day when she would open the cabinet, with what seemed to be hundreds of feet tall, of endless books to choose from. When she read to me, I wanted nothing more than to read just like her. Together, we worked on reading every chance we had. Eventually I got better at reading alone and could not put a book down. Instead of playing outside with my brothers during the Summer, I would stay inside in complete silence and just read. I remember going to the library with my mom on Saturdays, and staying the entire day. I looked forward to it each and every week.
Throughout my childhood I was never very good at reading. It was something I always struggled with and I grew to not like reading because of this. As a child my mom and dad would read books to me before I went to bed and I always enjoyed looking at the pictures and listening. Then, as I got older my mom would have me begin to read with her out loud. I did not like this because I was not a good reader and I would get so frustrated. During this time I would struggle greatly with reading the pages fluently, I also would mix up some of the letters at times. I also struggled with comprehension, as I got older. My mom would make me read the Junie B. Jones books by myself and then I would have to tell her what happened. Most
Besides this immersion into a world of books, I credit my love of reading to the fact that my parents only let me watch an hour of TV a day. I learned to use my mind and imagination to entertain myself. It's not really surprising that literature became my vocation. When not reading or writing, I enjoy watching films, baking, going to the city to eat Thai and Ethiopian food, walking, and relaxing with my friends.
As young girl I growing up I do not remember my parents or brother reading just for the enjoyment. The only parent I would ever see reading anything was my father and usually that would be the bible because he would have a lesson to teach at church. My mother till this day I have yet to see her read a book period. Do not get me wrong my mother does know how to read but does not find it enjoying at all therefore if it not a necessity she refuses to do it. And there is my brother, who I would see reading but that was only because he had a book report to complete.
Among the many great lessons I have learned on my journey to adulthood, and likely the most important, is that my job as a child of God is to be as loving and giving to the world as I can be within my own limits. The person who instilled this ideology in me is the largest and most prominent influence in my life. I attribute the person I have become to the contributions of my momma.
Throughout my life, reading and writing were a positive thing because of the support from the people around. I was never really the confident or extroverted type of person back in the day. This then caused me to be anxious when I read or be doubtful of what I wrote. I can still remember breaking balls of sweats and tensing up whenever I had to read something aloud in elementary. It was a pretty big social problem for me but I can also recall many times where I was laughing and having fun while doing something with reading or writing with my mother. Although there have been many things that affected me so far in my literary journey, my mother has been the most supportive and impactful person to me by reading short stories, going to the library, and giving me writing prompts. One of the activities I liked to do before I fell asleep was to read.
Reading was never something I fussed about growing up. As a child, I loved genres of realistic fiction. I was hooked on The New Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley, Goosebumps, The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes, Judy Moody, and especially, Zoobooks and Highlights magazines. My mother was always ready to help build my reading and writing skills. She took me to the library constantly to feed my passion for books and knowledge. I loved exploring the shelfs, organizing the books, and filling up my library cart. I tried keeping a diary in elementary school to keep track of my outings with my parents and grandparents to museums, zoos, movies, and libraries. This flash of writing enthusiasm was spun from books I read in the 4th and 5th grade that were
Since I am just under the age of 30, I asked one of my siblings’ questions pertaining to vocational goals. When shown John Holland's six-part diagram, my sister said that her vocational preference is and has always been social. My sister has always been interested in coaching, teaching, mentoring, and helping others. As a young adult, she wanted to become and Respiratory Therapist; she immediately started attending college after high school to pursue her goals of becoming a Respiratory Therapist. Unfortunately, my sister was never able to achieve her goal of becoming a respiratory therapist.
My parents instilled a passion for reading in me even as a toddler; years later, an excellent,
Muskan Agarwal Suffering My aunt was born deaf in India. At that time, there was a stigma related to deafness. In my aunt’s community, people tended to believe the deafness and muteness were associated with intellectual disability.
Reading has been a part of my life from the second I was born. All throughout my childhood, my parents read to me, and I loved it. I grew up going to the library and being read to constantly. Especially in the years before Kindergarten, reading was my favorite thing to do. I grew up loving fairy tales and thriving on the knowledge that I could have any book I wanted, to be read to me that night. Having no siblings, my only examples were my parents, and they read constantly. Without a family that supported my love of reading throughout my childhood, I wouldn’t appreciate it nearly as much as I have and do now.
Maybe, my sister and I inherited this live of reading from my father, or perhaps, our environment influenced us, but we were hooked onto books from a very early age. We would even take them to social gatherings, where we sure that we would get bored, and then just disappear into a quiet corner and spend the evening reading.