The Importance of Reading

Reading has always been a very important life and my reading was shaped at an early age. My first experience at understanding words and reading them started in kindergarten. My teacher, Mrs. Hammond, taught us letters and words by using “letter people.” These letter people were 26 blow-up figures that represented each letter of the alphabet. I can remember always looking forward to school to see what the new figure would look like and which letter it would be. It was always a surprise when a new figure would appear and I would always look forward to getting the day started. I remember being especially excited when “Mr. S” appeared because of the “S” in my name. Mr. S was a superhero and that day Mrs. Hammond read us a story about Superman.

Another important event in my life that affected my reading skills occurred when my elementary school finally got a library. The new library was not very large, but my sixth grade teacher, Mr. Bliss, wanted everyone in the class to utilize it. Every two to three weeks he would take the class to the library so each person could pick a book to read and then write a summary of it. The first book that I chose was from the Hardy Boys series. The book was full of mystery and suspense and I found that it was very interesting. The next time the class went to the library, I checked out another book from the Hardy Boys series and I was just as fascinated with this book as the last one. In total, I think that I read five or six books from the Hardy Boys series. The reading of these books and writing the summaries to go with them gave me a better ability to comprehend what I read.

My reading of the Hardy Boys series made mystery and suspense some of my favorite books to read. Even today, those are the kinds of books I like to read. Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons are two of my favorite books. I now prefer books with history entwined into the mystery. I find these books to be fast paced, intellectually stimulating, and a fun read.

All of my early experiences with reading have had a positive effect on my view of literacy. At first, I read only for fun. It was something productive to occupy my time instead of watching television. This kind of reading built a firm foundation for my future in literacy and in my education. Today, I still enjoy reading for fun, but reading has a much deeper meaning for me. Not a day goes by that I am not required to read. It is a necessary part of my life as a college student and it will create a productive future for me.