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My first memory of reading relates to my favorite childhood story: The biggest Birthday Cake in the World. I remember requesting that my dad read this to me every single night before I went to bed, dreaming about the Giant chocolate cake, and the delectable words that the author Elizabeth Spurr used to describe its taste. This book possessed grandeur similar to that of 'James and the Giant Peach', and to this day, is what created my curiosity for literature.

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Transitioning from English to Spanish- 2007 (Age 6)

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Transitioning from English to Spanish- 2007 (Age 6)

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When I was only seven, my mom started to introduce dual language books to me. Despite my love for reading in English, Spanish reading was another story. I could barely pronounce a fraction of the words, let alone understand them. In an effort to make reading in Spanish fun, my mom bought a large set of dual language BOB Books. These 6-10 page monochromatic bundles of boredom were the bane of my Sunday evenings. Every night, my mom would come in my room with a new bob book that she plucked from the set, and practically forced me to read it. I absolutely hated them. Although I partly attribute my fluency in Spanish to reading these plotless books, they were aimed towards children half my age, not nearly as fun to read as the books about giant chocolate cakes and colorful slithery snakes that I read in English. Soon enough, my sheer boredom with the dinky illustration, frustration with having to look up every word in the Spanish-English dictionary, and desire for more exciting literature, eventually pushed me to resist reading them. I told my mom, I wasn't going to do it anymore; I was too old to read BOB Books.

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First Grade: literary downfall- 2008 (Age 7)

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First Grade: literary downfall- 2008 (Age 7)

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After accounting my refusal to amuse myself with BOB books, my mother began a downward spiral about my experiences with reading in the first grade: "You absolutely hated it". I must have pushed this memory out of my brain, because only upon reaching within the depths of my childhood memories can I remember my harrowing hatred for all things literature. This transition can be attributed to reading by myself. I had gotten so used to reading with my mom and dad, that the transition from small picture books to the early chapter books was like being dunked in a cold tank of water. Especially in Spanish.

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Despite having very little recollection of any bad experiences with reading, the afformentioned interview with my mother uncovered otherwise. She was baffled when I told her I didnt remember hating reading, or struggling drastically with Spanish chapter books; "So..you're telling me you don't remember coming home crying every day when I made you read books in Spanish?" Of course I didnt. I had blocked those memories out! She told me about my only run in with summer school in the first grade. I had straight o's (o for outstanding), but was handed a pink slip by my first grade teacher. It read: "we suggest your child attend remedial classes in the summer for: ____'improving reading skills'____" I was devastated. Only now do I remember balling my eyes out at the thought of attending summer school. I had done everything right!! I don't remember actually going; the pink paper was more of a suggestion. For students who received a blue paper, summer classes were mandatory. For me, it was a suggestion; A suggestion that i decided to take care of myself.

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Climbing Out of a Rut: Learning to Love Reading Again- 2009-2012

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Climbing Out of a Rut: Learning to Love Reading Again- 2009-2012

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As I spent more time in the Dual Language Program, I gradually began to pick up Spanish. With the help of Imagination Station, a dinky reading and comprehension program adopted by Mesita, I began to excel in my classes. I was still awful at math through the rest of my elementary and middle school years, but I started to read books in English and Spanish for fun again. Along with these reading programs, Magic Treehouse Books, Enders Game, Eragon, Narnia, and the Warrior Cat books made me enjoy reading books without pictures.  As cheesy and obnoxious as it could be, without Imagination Station, I would probably have given up on my uphill battle to become a better reader.

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Developing my love for Horror 2012-2017 (Age 11-16)

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Developing my love for Horror 2012-2017 (Age 11-16)

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For as long as I can remember, I have loved being scared. While most kids enjoyed a simple bed-time story in their younger years, I would get a kick out of the cheesy horror novels that used to scare me endlessly. I remember days when my grandma would be in town, and all we would do during the hours before bed, was read books from R.L. Stein's "Goosebumps" series. I absolutely loved his books; I read every single one of them. I found refuge with horror novels throughout the years, probably because it was as far from the historical fiction books we were forced to read in school. Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Gillian Flynn, and H.P. Lovecraft, were some of my favorite authors as I began to delve further into my obsession with thrilling novels.

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since fighting through my only issues with reading in elementary school, I haven't struggled with the subject at all. I am now in several book clubs, having just finished reading 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess, and 'Born a Crime' by Trevor Noah. The only thing left to convey my literary development has to be my interview with my dad , where I asked him when he knew I had grown out of my reading funk: "The thing that struck a chord with me the most...has to be the time I caught you curled up on the couch, reading my grey's anatomy textbook from college. I was ecstatic". Despite my love for George Orwell and Mary Shelley, I have to say that I miss reading books of my choice. Although they may be classics, nothing is better than immersing yourself into a world of literature, one of your own choosing.