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My earliest memory of loving a book is in kindergarten. My teacher Mrs. Green announced to the class that it was reading time. I can vaguely remember some sort of nature book with a green cover. By the end of school, even though reading time was long over, I enjoyed the book so much that I went back to the book corner and took it home. -
I thoroughly enjoyed the spelling tests in elementary. I remember reading the words over and over and practicing how to spell them even when I didn't have to. At one point, I was able to read the words over around three times and manage to (most times) get a perfect score on the test each Friday. As a kid, I looked forward to these because at the time, it challenged me to learn new words that I didn't know before. -
I remember spending hours and hours writing a book that I titled "The Hidden Files". I was so proud of it I let everyone in my class read it and I even managed to make a second book to the series. I also remember my older sister sitting beside me, helping me edit the chapters once I mustered up the courage to show her what I had written -
During the summer, I was assigned reading for English. I remember my older sister pulling out a bunch of books, giving them for me to read. There were over five books that she gave me, she inspired me so much that I read at least a couple chapters of each book. I remember the cover of Time Cat vividly -
During the height of the pandemic, I struggled to sleep at night. My bed was right next to a window so when my little sister fell asleep, I would open it to feel the breeze and watch the cars pass by. I imagined all sorts of scenarios by this window. However it soon became nights of reading, I read a book each night, staying up until I couldn't keep my eyes open. I remember A Walk to Remember. I read it over and over each night because I loved it so much. I ended up watching the movie! -
The pandemic was still going and I really had nothing to do. So I decided that I wanted to attempt to learn a new language, I found Korean interesting so I ordered a book off amazon. I remembering playing "Study with Me" videos and studying for three hours straight while eating Strawberry Hi-Chews every day However, to this today I only remember how to write bread (빵) and (똥) poop. as funny as it is! -
This same year, I became obsessed with poetry books. My favorite poet was Rupi Kaur, who is widely known in the poetry world. Her books resonated with me at a time where I felt isolated because of the ongoing pandemic. I collected many of her books over the span of this year. Kaur inspired me to write my own poetry about experiences in my life, I fell in love with writing and reading again. -
My little brother, who was four at the time, started to communicate with my family and I. However, my mother spoke Spanish, my stepdad spoke Portuguese, and my siblings and I spoke English in the house, so in return, my little brother understood all three. I recall trying my best looking up and saying words in all three languages. My dedication to this allowed for my brother and I to communicate. Now I'm able to understand bits and pieces of Portuguese but heaps more of Spanish! -
I chose to read, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", for AP Lang Summer Reading. Doing this sparked my love for reading again. From taking that book in kindergarten, to writing one myself as a kid, finding a favorite during the night, and delving into four different languages, reading definitely changed my life! Earlier this year, I was able to get a bunch of books from the school library, I plan to finish them before the new year.