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Mom is Busy, Time to Learn the ABC's
At around 2 years old, while my mom was busy, she would put videos on the TV about the ABC's. She told me that in a couple of days, I would memorize the ABC song. -
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My Reading and Writing Adventures
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There's a First Time for Everything
At 3 years old, my mom gave me a notepad and a pencil. She sat down with me on a mini table and chair and forced me to write. Then, she would get a children's book from the shelf next to the table, which she read to me and I would have to repeat after her. -
Starting School
My mom registered me for preschool in the Philippines, where I developed my reading and writing skills. Luckily, my school also taught English. -
Moving to America
When I moved to America, I was starting 1st grade in Maui. I was lucky enough to know and understand English, however it was a big change. I had to start talking more in English than in Tagalog. -
Read Quick!
In 2nd grade, I remember a teacher would call each student, one by one, out of the class. Then, the teacher would sit us down with a paper and a timer. She would start the timer and we would have to read as much as we can during that time limit. I'm pretty sure it was a test to see how fast we get at reading, as well as if we can understand the reading. -
First Book Series- Magic Tree House
In 2nd grade, my class went to the library. I found myself in the fiction section and got a Magic Tree House book. It wasn't the first in the series, but I found myself craving to read the rest of the series, so I went back to the school library and got the first book of the series. -
Sharing Interests
In 4th grade, my best friend began talking about his interest in Greek Mythology and the Percy Jackson series. He showed me a book on all the Greek Gods and gave me the first book in the Percy Jackson series to borrow. I was so interested in the series, I began to read the rest of the books. This was the first series I read that had slightly longer stories. -
Becoming an "author"
After reading the Percy Jackson series, I wanted to write a story on my own. I attempted to sit down and brainstorm ideas for a story, but I never completed anything because I would always forget to write the story or just became lazy too. However, I remember around this time, I wanted to become an author, which is completely different to what I want to be now. -
Moving Again
I started 5th grade in 2016. My family and I moved to West Haven, CT. This is when I began to consistently become better and work harder at every subject, including English. -
Reading Ahead
I remember in 5th grade, I was taken out of class with a couple other students. We went downstairs in this room full of books. The teacher who took us down told us that we are great at what we do, which was read and write, so she told us that we would be reading and learning 6th grade level topics. I remember going home that day and excitedly telling my parents. -
First Essay
The first essay I remember writing was in 5th grade. We learned the different parts of an essay and I remember getting good grades on these essays. At one point, I remember despising essays because they are too much work, but as I continue writing essays, I began to be okay with it because writing essays is like writing a story. -
First Library Card
I remember getting my first library card in 2019. I was super excited because I now have access to any book I wanted. -
COVID Year
I remember starting freshman year during the COVID season. To be honest, during this time, I became lazier because I was home for many days. I didn't read, instead, I watched TV or took long naps. -
I'm in a Reading Slump
During sophomore year, I was in honors classes and had 2 AP classes. I procrastinated A LOT, so I stayed up as late as 2 am to finish homework from these classes. Therefore, I had no time to read for my enjoyment. Even when I had the time, I was so used to not reading for myself, I stopped reading for a long time, unless I was forced to in class, but even then, I had a hard time focusing on the book I was reading. -
"It Ends With Us"
"It Ends With Us" was the novel that pulled me out of my reading slump. I found the pdf online and read it. It gave me so many emotions, as if I was part of the novel. It is my favorite book of all time! Colleen Hoover, the author of "It Ends With Us" has many other books, which I began reading, some I even read in one sitting. -
AP Classes
Ever since I became part of the accelerated courses in middle school, I continued to be ahead and took honors classes and even AP classes throughout high school. Junior year I took my first AP class for English. I wanted this class to further enhance my reading and writing, like what I have been doing all my life.