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Starting Kindergarten
I remember my Kindergarten teacher coming to visit my house before school was supposed to start. My mom said, "I think it would be nice if you got a few books from your little library up in your room to show your new teacher you know how to read." The first book I took from the shelf was "Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus" by Barbara Park, the second book I grabbed was "Froggy Goes to School" by Jonathan London, and the final book I chose was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. -
Starting Junior High
It was not until I got to junior high when I found a book that sparked my interest like those three books I chose from my room. The book was "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins and I started reading it because the popular girl I sat beside in science was reading it. -
Starting High School
Once my time in junior high came to a close, it was time for high school. I was so wrapped up in the social aspects that I did not have time to read. I only read what was required for class and even then I still did not read because I found the summary notes of the book online. Now that I am in college, I regret making those decisions and wish I had fully invested myself in those books like I did in junior high. -
Summer Before College
It was not until the summer before I started college when I found a book I truly could not put down. It was "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury, and I started reading it after my honor English teacher suggested it to me. It was the first piece of prestigious literature I read, and after I finished it, I could not wait to get my hands on more. I was on the hunt, but just could not get into any of them the way I did with the first one. -
Starting College
The time had finally come for me to leave the nest and that was one of the biggest decisions I have made in my life so far. It was a big transition for me, so finding time to read was a struggle even though the list of books I wanted to read kept getting longer. My freshman year went by like the blink of an eye just like my years in elementary school. -
Winter Break of Sophomore Year in College
It was not until my sophomore year of college when I started to dive back into reading. During winter break, I followed in my dad's footsteps and started reading the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I read both "The Philosopher's Stone" and "The Chamber of Secrets" during that winter break before school started again. I have always been a daddy's girl, so being able to have another thing to talk to my dad about made reading the Harry Potter series even more exciting. -
Summer Before Junior Year of College
I was so busy that summer came faster than expected, so I was then able to read two more of the Harry Potter books. That summer I read "The Prisoner of Azkaban" and "The Goblet of Fire" and talked about them with my dad the whole time. It was almost like my dad was reading along with me and he got so happy talking about it that he almost started reading the series all over again. That summer did not last long enough for me to finish the fifth book in the series, "The order of the Phoenix".