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Birth
As I was born I began my literary journey by being read nursery rhymes. -
My First Literary Memory
When I was roughly 3-4 years old, I remember my Mother reading "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss to me. I remember attempting to connect the words she said to the bright illustrations and the change of mood within the book. For instance, the book tells you that sometimes life is exciting, sometimes life is sad, but there will be good times along with the sad times. This book was the first time I remember being read a book and this led me to want to learn to read books. -
New Beginnings
As I began learning the English alphabet, I eventually started struggling through children's books. The first book I remember reading by myself was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This book taught me that eating the right things was important. More importantly, it was the first time that I discovered that letters placed on a page in a specific order convey information. This initial book pushed me to continue my literary journey. -
My First Writing Experience
My first writing experience was when I was in first grade. My teacher would have the class draw an illustration and then tell a story relating to our drawing. I remember drawing and writing about video game and television characters such as Perry the Platypus from the Disney Channel show Phineas and Ferb. This first memory of writing was the first step of the many essays, research papers, journal entries, and religious manifestos that I have written throughout the years. -
The First Time I Could Not Put a Book Down
In third grade I discovered "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid' books by Jeff Kinney. Reading the misadventures that the main character Greg Heffley goes through was very entertaining to me. The main role this book series plays in my literary journey was that I could not put these books down. I would wake up early and start reading and stay up after I was supposed to be asleep. As soon as a new book would come out I would already have read it. This book series showed me how fun reading could be. -
Misery
In 7th grade, I read the book "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson. Within this book, I remember seeing how much death and destruction a disease such as the Yellow Fever could cause to numerous people. This book was one of the first times I read about serious topics instead of happy books with happy endings. I was intrigued by these types of books and the miserable events within "Fever 1793" led me to read horror novels. -
The Wonderful World of Greek Mythology
In 7th grade, I read the "Percy Jackson" book series by Rick Riordan. On top of being another series of books I could not put down, these books introduced me to the vast world of Greek Mythology. I became interested in how the Greeks created stories to explain everything such as the changing seasons. I was also interested in how the author used ancient Greek gods to tell a modern story. Moreover, these books opened my eyes to how ancient literature can influence new books. -
Father Poe
Throughout 2016 I read through most of Edgar Allan Poe's most well known short stories and poems. Within my literary journey, this was the first time I was fascinated by poetry. Before discovering Poe's poems, I thought poetry was quite boring. However, analyzing his poems such as "The Conqueror Worm" and examining their multiple layers showed me the numerous ways one can interpret a text. I also became heavily interested in his tragic personal life and seeing how it connected with his work. -
Shakespearean Literature
In Dr. Mock's 9th grade Honors Composition class, we read "Romeo and Juliet". Reading this book showed me that language vastly changes over the centuries. For example, attempting to read the untranslated pages took a good deal of effort. On top of being one of the first plays I have ever read, this play also expanded the genres I had been exposed to throughout my literary journey. -
Poetry is Cool
After reading through many of Poe's poems I was inspired to start writing poetry of my own. His work changed my opinion of disliking poetry to writing poetry for fun. -
Spooky TIme
In 2017, I was excited to watch the new movie "It" that was coming out. I decided that in order to fully appreciate the film, I should read the original novel. "It" by Stephen King was the first horror novel I read throughout my years of reading. Coming in at over 1100 pages, it was also the longest book I have ever read. Over the entire summer, I became deeply interested in the complex characters and the lore within the novel. This book lead me to want to experiment with new genres. -
Satire
In 2018 I read the book, "Animal Farm" by George Orwell, this book was the first time I read a book that was mocking history. The connections between the inner workings of the farm and the beginning of Soviet Communism or dictatorships as a whole was astounding to me. As I love this period of world history, it was exciting to be able to connect characters and events to real life. -
King of Kings
Earlier this year in August 2019 I became infatuated with the drama "Breaking Bad". Toward the end of the series where the main character's life begins to crumble, one of the episodes is titled "Ozymandias". I looked up this name and discovered the poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley. This is by far my favorite poem I have come upon so far in my literary journey. The idea that a powerful figure can not beat time and that eventually everything is meaningless is a new idea for me.
