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1st Grade
Just moved to America in 1st grade, not knowing how to speak, write, or read English. The class was reading a Dr. Seuss book and I just sat on my seat not understanding what was going on but just looked at the images in the book. -
2nd Grade
I was in 2nd Grade and at this time I couldn't only understand and speak a few thing in English. I still couldn't read in English though, so my teacher became sympathetic in my situation and asked me if I wanted a Spanish version of the book we were reading in class. I had said yes but knowing that I couldn't even read Spanish either and didn't want to become like an outcast in class. -
Songs
To learn how to read English better I began reading along to the lyrics of songs I would listen to. Some songs would include, Pompeii by Bastille, Viva La Vida by Coldplay, Count on me by Bruno Mars, etc. -
Dance
I used to be a dancer when I was younger and in between classes I would sit and read. At this time I would only pick out books with vibrant images for me to be able to be more interested in reading, since because of my struggle with learning English I would be annoyed of reading because I felt as if I was a failure. The book I remember reading at this time was the "Mouseford Academy series by Thea Stilton. -
5th Grade
In Carrigan intermediate school during my English/social studies class my teacher told all of us to pick a book and partner up with the person who chose the same book as you. I wasn't truly close with anyone in that class, so while everyone was rushing to pick out the same book, I looked at which cover interested me most. In the end I chose the book "A Long Walk To Water" by Linda Sue Park. Reading this true story got me to love reading. -
6th Grade
Outside the cafeteria the school was offering free books for anyone to take for themselves. I decided to go and look if any book caught my attention. I ended up picking out the first book in the "Selection Series" by Kiera Cass. After reading the first book I begged my mom to take me to Barnes and Nobles to get the rest of the books in the series for me to read and she did. I read the rest of the series within a few months. Walking into Barnes and Nobles I fell in love with reading. -
8th Grade
During my 8th grade year our teacher took the class down to the library. While being there I picked out a book titled "Stolen" by Lucy Christopher. Come to find out it because my most favorite book I've read. From the point on my friends started calling me a bookworm from how much I read. -
Poetry
My best friend got me my first poetry book title "Pillow Thoughts" by Courtney Peppernall. I loved the way how the author made a few words tell an entire story, the way I could relate to some of the poetry, and how her poetry could be interpreted to any situation not just heartbreak, etc. From there I started writing my own poetry and fell in love with writing as well. -
11th Grade
During the summer before my Junior year my AP Lang teacher gave a summer reading assignment. She gave us a list of books for us to pick from. I chose "Beautiful Boy" by David Sheff. Throughout reading the book I was amazed on how someone could be able to write their life moments in a way that I felt as if I was apart of it. Also learning how to annotate properly made it fun to finish the assignment, which caused me to be sure that I would be capable to take an AP English class.