And I blame it on my parents.
And my first grade teacher, Mrs. Coffee.
You see, they are the ones that made me read. We have family videos of me reading with mom and dad when I was around 2. From what I can tell, I was a tad bit obsessed. :) Throughout the first 6 years of my life, my parents continued to buy me books - like every parent does when their kid is learning to read - and they listened as I read to them as often as they'd let me.
Then, first grade happened.
Over the course of that school year, something magical occurred in my life... I fell in love with books.
According to Mom and Dad, I couldn't stop reading. It was the hardest (b/c I was 6 and learning all kinds of new words and such), and best year, that changed my life in ways that I cannot explain. A lot of people I talk to, a lot of my students even, hate to read. The thought of having to read more than twenty pages and their brain shuts down and they immediately conjure up a way to avoid the assignment (which, thanks to stupid Spark notes, no teacher can truly prove if they've read or not). Put a book in their hands and their start to hyperventilate and get antsy over it.
[I don't know what that's like.]
I've always loved reading. There is a thrill that comes from painting a picture in my mind with the words that fly off the page. From a wizard slaying 'him-who-must-not-be-named' to falling in love (along with all the other girls in this world) with Michael Hosea in Redeeming Love ...books take me to a world that is so far from the one in which I live.
I firmly believe that books have shaped the woman I've become today. They enrich my vocabulary and enhance my imagination. They teach me to dream and show me how to overcome my fears. With books, I get to become whomever I want to. I am a crime solver, a doctor, a lawyer, a journalist. I am a parent whose child is battling leukemia, and an actress fighting through the chaos that comes with being famous. I step into the shoes of all kinds of people. I shed tears with characters who are mourning deaths and defeats, and again when they are celebrating great life moments. I breathe heavily as the character runs from the antagonist (the bad guy) and escape scary, intense situations just by turning the page. Their world becomes mine. I am a third party view to the things they experience. And I love every second of it.
Today, while I was watching TV, this commercial came on for the Nook (which I have, and absolutely love). They've started a new campaign called "read forever". And they have this 'anthem' they've established that I've already decided MUST become apart of my classroom next year. (I am determined to somehow display it on my wall so my kids can see it) As soon as I heard it, I went straight to Google so I could watch it again. It was incredible. And, so, because you might miss it, I've included the words and the video here for you. :)
Til all the books I read are read
and all the pens are put down
and everything there is to learn is learned
Til tears are no longer shed
and the zingers have all zinged
and the irony is all ironed out
Til the heroes retire
and the monsters return to their dens
and all the plots are wrapped up
Til there are no more twists or turns
No more guns in drawers
No more shaggy dogs
Til rhymes stop rhyming
and pots stop boiling
and everyone is happy and there’s nothing more say
Til that day
By hook or by crook
By book or by nook
I will read
So maybe I am a nerd.
(mostly according to all the non-readers out there. And mom always said that people call you names because they're jealous. haha)
But I experience more in three hundred pages than some people do in a lifetime. :) And I wouldn't trade that for the world. :)
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