My Literary Experience

Books, I never really liked them until I was around the age of sixteen. I mean sure, I loved picture books in kindergarten, but words never sparked any interest of mine. Kindergarten was probably one of the scariest experiences of my life, due to the old bat, Mrs. Smuck, who was my teacher; she scared the absolute crap out of me. I remember sitting with all of my classmates listening to her read and I used to cover my face because I could not look at her. However, I did not let her hold me back from learning to read. I had to recite the alphabet every day, say the pledge of allegiance, and recite many prayers, of which I had to learn from reading. I also took part in the making of an alphabet book which was a series of 26 pages, hence 26 letters of the alphabet, which helped me in my reading.
After the younger years, I went on to junior high and read books such as Gathering Blue and Huckleberry Finn. I fell in love with Gathering Blue and I did not hate Huckleberry Finn, but I do not consider it to be one of my favorites. I had a ten book minimum reading requirement from a collection of books that had been named Young Hoosier Book Award winners. I guess having reading requirements made me hate writing as much as I did during my junior high years, but it would only get worse as I made the transition into high school.
I am great at predicting things; high school not only brought great friends, but a great deal of homework, mostly in English. During high school, I read Beowoulf, The Great Gatsby, Romeo and Juliet, The Twelfth Night, and many more. I really was not interested in reading my freshman year just because I was trying to get adjusted and was immature and hated the idea of having to read to get by in school. Once sophomore year hit I went through a complete transition and started to love reading. I realized over time that I had to read to get by in school and to get the grades that I wanted. I had to read to answer review questions and write papers, so without having the literacy ability to read, I really do not know where I would be today. I absolutely loved my teachers in high school and I think that my fondness of them added to my interest in reading.
I was no doubt prepared for college after high school. Over the summer I read eight books that I chose personally and enjoyed them all. For summer reading I was assigned The Price of a Dream, I honestly did not like it at all. I find myself more interested in books that I have something in common with, or relate to. I do not feel that just because I am not interested in scholarly books that my ability to be literate has dropped or undermined. I feel that if you read what you love that should be enough. Everyone is interested in different subjects and that is great.
Over the course of my education I have realized that literacy is key to education. An individual must be able to read and write to learn. I am so lucky to have received so many great lessons and experiences that have added to my literacy abilities.