Literature Autobiography

Who Influenced my Reading:
I decided to use my best resource to find out what I read or who I read to when I was younger, my mother. My mother and I exchanged stories back and forth to recapture some moments I had with books and reading in general. My mom explained to me that when I was younger my dad and she would read to my brother and me every night. They felt reading and being read to was very important to form my vocabulary and a positive way to bond with me right before I went to sleep. After listening to my mom tell me stories, now I can actually remember lying in my Strawberry Shortcake sheets and listening to my parents read to me; I was and still am very lucky to have such committed and caring parents. I guess technically my parents were the first ones to introduce me to books and influenced my feelings towards books. My mother went back to school to get her Master’s when we were in elementary school. I can vividly remember sitting in the Lewisville public library with my brother and my mother reading our books. My mom was not reading children’s books, of course, but I can remember feeling important reading next to my mother.

My father also influenced my reading in a positive way when I was younger. I can remember him asking me questions about the books I was reading when I was younger. Also, in high school, he wanted me to read some of his books he read when he was in high school. They were murder mysteries. I never thought I would get into murder mysteries, but I really did fall in love with them. In high school, I remember reading Mary Higgins Clark and Agatha Christie. Another person who influenced my feelings towards books was my older brother. When I was younger, I wanted to be just like him. There are pictures of me wearing the same clothes as my brother, dressing the same as my brother, and acting the same as my brother. So, when my brother picked up a book and started reading, I wanted to read just like him.

I think the most influential reading teacher I had was Mrs. Christenson, my second grade teacher. She was one of those teachers that I just thought the world revolved around. I can remember being in her classroom and sitting in the library surrounded by hundreds of books. Mrs. Christenson got me to start reading Shel Silverstein’s poetry books, Falling Up and Where the Sidewalk Ends. I still have these books today because of Mrs. Christenson.

I remember in 4th grade my teacher, Ms. Henry, made us create our own book. I mean this was the real deal; we were our own publishing company. We actually got to draw our own pictures and write our own words on the pages; the book was even a hardback book. I remember feeling very excited about this project, since I could make up the all the characters, the story, the plot, the pictures, and the title. My title was “Christmas Without My Brother”; I wonder why I would write such a story! I do love my brother, I promise.

I Knew All Along:
You know how some people just know what they want to be when they grow up? Well, supposedly I was determined that I was going to be a teacher. My mom always tells me about my early days in school. When I was in first grade, I had A LOT of stuffed animals that I always arranged in rows on my bedroom floor. Then, I got all of my books down from my shelf in my room, started reading to my “class”, and asked my stuffed animals questions. Of course, they would answer and we would have a class discussion about the book we were reading. I then got on to some kangaroos in the back for talking and not paying attention to me. This really does make me laugh, because I knew what I wanted to be when I was in first grade, yet, I changed my major five times once I was in college. Now, look where I have returned: to the education field! Not only is this related to my profession, but also to reading. I not only was reading to myself as a child, but also to an audience, whether it be my relatives (like my little cousins whenever they would visit) or my favorite stuffed animals.

Favorite Books:
Among my favorite titles were the American Girl Collection books, which naturally led to asking Santa for the American Girl dolls every Christmas. As I mentioned before, I can remember reading poetry like Falling Up and Where the Sidewalk Ends. I can remember this one book called Minnie and Me, which I thought was so cool when I was younger (and still do). The book was about professions, and I was actually one of the main characters, along with Minnie of course. There was a place in the back to put my picture so that I was with Minnie on every page. I can also remember getting the magazine “Highlights” in the mail. I looked forward to these every month, because not only did they have interesting articles, they also had little games and crossword puzzles to play with. Also, I had a lot of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I really liked these stories and actually still buy some Chicken Soup books today.

How Important Reading Is:
Reading is a way we can gain knowledge, acquire new vocabulary, use our imagination, and travel to places without leaving our homes. Reading, also, can give us insight into different cultures and diverse concepts. Also, reading is interpreting something for yourself due to prior experiences that you have been through. You and the person sitting next to you could be reading the same thing and, yet, perceive the words to tell a story about two totally different things. That is the power reading has over us; reading can be taken literally or metaphorically.

My students will have many opportunities to read in my classroom whether it be for science, social studies, language, or math. My goal is to have diverse books for all my different children to choose from so that they can get the most out of reading like I feel I did when I was younger.