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The Big Green Book
When I was around 5 or 6 years old, I got Dr Suess' "The BIG Green Book of Beginner Books." This was the first book I was able to read fully on my own and I would consistently. I was in around first grade and not the best reader, so the short stories with easy words made me enjoy the readability of the book. -
West Haven Public Library
When I was really young, my grandma would take my sisters and I to the Public Library almost weekly for us to check out new books to read. It was really great to spend time with her and my sisters and was probably one of the events that sparked my love for reading. -
Writing Stories
In third grade, I wrote my first short story. At the time, the assignment was considered writing a "book" but in reality, it was only around 2 pages long. I wrote it about the Halloween costumes my close friend an I wore that year. My third grade teacher really enjoyed my book and had me read it to other teachers during a meeting. -
Junie B. Jones
In second grade, I had an obsession with Junie B. Jones books. I read every single one and to this day, I likely still have many of the books in my bookshelf at home. I liked to follow along with her life and I enjoyed the books very much. I believe the character was around my age at the time which made me like them even more. -
Proofreading
In fourth grade, my teacher wrote her own book with another teacher in the school. She then asked me if I wanted to read it and give her advice on what I thought was good and what I thought needed some work. I read it and really enjoyed the book, although I don't quite remember what it was about. I believe I was the first person she let read it other than herself and the other author. -
Harry Potter
In around forth and fifth grade, I read the Harry Potter series. They were the first books I read that were as long and I really enjoyed them. I read all of them and ended up watching the movies also, and it sort of introduced me to longer chapter books that I've been reading since. -
Eighth Grade Graduation
In seventh and eighth grade, I was in the National Junior Honor Society. Around a month prior to my eighth grade graduation, I was asked by one of my teachers if I wanted to write a speech to read out to my classmates during graduation. I agreed and I really enjoyed being able to speak at such an event to my peers. -
Nineth Grade English
Throughout middle school, I kind of lost my love for reading partially due to COVID. When I became a freshman, I walked into English with my teacher Ms. A, and as the year went on, she brought out my love for reading and English again. She considered me one of her best writers and having a great teacher like her really helped me find my love for reading and writing again.