Influences on my Literacy

There have been many people and things that have impacted my literacy. Through the years there have been both positive and negative influences to my reading and writing. Whether it was a certain teacher or a certain book I got interesting in reading quite early. This interest only lasted so long; there were also books and requirements that deterred me from reading as well. I am beginning to regain my interest, but it is sometimes hard to find the desire to do so.
Early on in my life I had a very strong interest in reading. I excelled at it, so I had no trouble finding books that I was able to read and understand. I always loved being in the “accelerated” reading group in first and second grade, reading tough words that the other students were not able to read. I felt like I had the upper hand in my reading. Once I was able to begin reading what I called chapter books I began to get even more excited about reading. I enjoyed the series of books called Goosebumps; these books boosted my desire to read immensely.
All through elementary school I thoroughly enjoyed reading; this seemed to change slightly when I reached middle school. We began to have summer reading and also required reading. I never really enjoyed any of these books and a few of them I had a hard time understanding. Although I was in the accelerated English classes I never quite understood the books that were assigned until my teacher explained them in detail. I felt like I wasn’t getting anything from the content that I was reading. I began to just skim over the text that was assigned and simply wait until my teacher explained it; I stopped trying to understand what the author was trying to say. I believe this was the start of the decline in my interest to read.
Once I hit high school I did not really enjoy reading anymore. There were so many books that I was required to read,t I was overwhelmed. I understood very little in the books that I was reading and I felt like it took me forever to read the books. I stopped reading books on my own due to my frustration with the books that I was required to read. Even over the summer I was required to read books that I did not enjoy. Now that I look back at my high school career I believe that the required reading that I was asked to do ruined my drive to read. Even after I was done with required reading I did not have any desire to start reading again. Now that it is almost a year after I was done with high school reading I am beginning to find myself wanting to read books. I am hoping that I am able to mend my interest in reading.
Although school was a very positive influence early on, it was also a negative influence later in my grade school career. I know that most of it was to make me a more dynamic and well rounded person but I believe it hindered my ability to improve my reading. Now that most of my required reading is done I hope to fix what is left of my interest in reading. I now hope to begin reading books that I enjoy.