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Books with Grandmother
I live on the same street as the rest of my family, so when I was young, me, my sister, and my cousins would spend a lot of time at my Grandparent's house. My Granny had a big basket full of children's books for us to read. She would read to us and we would read to each other. Our favorites were the "Little Golden Books." -
Public Library with Mom
I can remember visiting the public library with Mama and my twin sister, Brooke (I'm the one on the left in the photograph). We would always participate in the summer reading program there. Not only did we get to read some pretty great books, but if you completed the list, the library would give you a certificate for free pizza. And who doesn't love free pizza? -
Elementary Reading and AR Tests
I was always in the school library throughout elementary school. Reading was fun, and I expecially like earning Accelerated Reader points by choosing more difficult books. This was my main motivator in reading during elementary school. I had to have the most points, and if I couldn't have that, I had to at least beat my sister! -
Visiting the Trade Store
My sister and I would ride home with my Granny after school some days. She would always stop by the book trade store, Barter Books, to trade in her completed romantic novels for new ones. We would always get pizza when we left. There is something about reading and pizza in my memory! HA! We never really found any books we liked at this bookstore because what kid gives away a perfectly good book? -
Reading is fun when I get to choose
Reading started to fall by the way side once I hit upper middle school. I liked reading if I could choose the book, but I didn't think my teachers would ever pick something that interested me. I did the readings for my classes, but was determined not to like them, even if the books were "kinda interesting." As you can see in the photograph, there is not much "reading" going on in the classroom. -
Only like reading Magazines
Once I hit high school, reading was no longer "cool" and I just couldn't find time in my busy schedule to read for pleasure. The most reading I did outside of school would probably be reading magazines. My favorite read was "Seventeen," especially the embarrassing stories in the very back. -
Love for Literature Rekindled Senior Year
My senior year of high school I took AP Literature. I had an amazing teacher, Mrs. Smith, who rekindled my love for literature. She allowed us to interact with the readings and she also gave the class choices for what we would read. This changed my view of reading in school. It could be fun and I could actually like a book recommended by a teacher! She was loved by many! -
Still read for fun
Now that I am in college, I do a lot of reading. During my first two years, the reading was quite boring. I didn't do much reading outside of class due to the large amount of homework I had. Now that I'm an education major, I'm beginning to explore literature more. I have started reading more on my free time and am excited to become an avid reader again!
