For as long as I can remember, reading has been a huge part of my life, but my relationship with reading and writing did not start positively. In fact, it was my worst subject up until the fourth grade. Reading made me feel insecure and challenged, but I used that frustration to push me to work harder. I was constantly pulled out of class to receive one-on-one help with my reading, which embarrassed me. It felt like all my flaws were put on display for all my peers to see. However, in the fourth grade, my teacher was the first teacher who expressed that I was not stupid. In fact, he argued that I was a great reader who was capable of success. From then on, I became obsessed with the one activity I once was terrible at… reading.
I remember the first time I was deeply invested in a series, which was the Hunger Games. I indulged myself into the words of every page. Katniss taught my sixth-grade self that I could do anything if I had the right amount of courage to do so. That’s what made me fall in love with reading, it taught me valuable lessons that I would never attain on any tv show. Even now, it is hard to express how much reading has done for me. During the lockdown, it was my greatest escape from our broken world, or when I sought to shape my morals.
Recently, I read an article called, “How Reading Makes Us More Human” which made me realize the density of reading. To paraphrase, Prior states that reading is one of the few distinct qualities that set humans apart from the animal kingdom. Unlike any spoken language, reading does not come naturally to human beings. The privilege to know how to read awakens our senses and teaches us to interpret the world around us in a different way. I guess that’s why I love reading so much because I am able to make sense of the world around me from the lessons I learned through literature pieces.Â
Though there are many books I have yet to read, I know my passion for reading will only continue to grow.Â