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I started to say real words around the age of 1; however, I was a very vocal baby even before that. i did lots of babbling and trying to communicate before I could pronounce real words. My first word was “mama” and I ways always on track or a little advanced with my speech. I also loved hearing bedtime stories and listening to my parents tell stories. I was forming sentences fairly quickly for the age I was at and I did so much earlier than my siblings.

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I started reading when I was in Kindergarten with their help of my parents; however, I started reading unassisted by 1st grade. I was always excited to learn to read and would enjoy reading to my parents and my siblings. I was usually quick to learn my flash cards and my spelling words and I really enjoyed practicing. I began reading simple chapter books such as the “ Julie B Jones” series by the end of my 1st grade year.

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After learning to read and expanding my vocabulary, I quickly found a love for writing. Starting in about 2nd grade I began writing very short creative stories for fun. I would usually do this if I had extra time in class or even at recess sometimes. I really enjoyed expressing myself through writing.

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At my elementary school, we were eligible for the high ability class in 3rd grade. My teacher recommended me to take the language arts test, and I ended up being placed in the class. This class would meet twice a week and we would work on challenging language arts concepts. This was my favorite part of the week because I got to write a lot and do things that challenged my brain a little. This was also the year that we started taking ISTEP. I would typically do fairly well on the English portion although I found the test to be very stressful.

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After getting to middle school, I took my first Honors English class in 6th grade and would continue this path throughout high school. As my life got more busy with sports, school, family, and friends I did begin to limit my writing and reading and would spend my free time doing other things instead. I still really enjoyed writing; however, I just did not have as much time to do it as I would have liked.

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Throughout high school, I continued to take Honors English for the next three years. I learned a lot about composition and reading comprehension. I also took Latin for three years in high school which was a great way to help expand my vocabulary. I did fairly well on the reading and writing portions of the SAT and I also was able to complete a couple duel credit English classes that earned me credits for college.