# data[].attributes.body
I only really began to love reading in the 7th grade when my friend introduced me to the Hunger Games series. I've read each book of the trilogy at least two dozen times each, and that is not an exaggeration. Mockingjay is actually my favorite, but the first book is a big deal to me because it was the origin of my love of reading.

# data[].attributes.body
My mom was the one who taught me how to read, so I think it's very appropriate to start here with a photo of her and me at my high school graduation. Reading was really important to my mom, but, funnily enough, I considered reading to be a huge chore for most of my childhood. I much preferred movies and TV.

# data[].attributes.body
Another one of my favorites.

# data[].attributes.body
One of my favorite books as a kid.

# data[].attributes.body
Going to the library as a kid was a huge deal to me. I didn't really like reading, but I loved learning. My favorite books were ones that listed world records and anything about animals.

# data[].attributes.body
I was categorized in elementary school as part of LAUSD's gifted and talented program. Part of that was my reading comprehension being consistenly ranked as far beyond my grade level. I know that this definitely shaped how I came to view reading and writing later in life, since adults in my life constantly told me that I was an amazing reader and writer.

# data[].attributes.body
When I was thirteen, I lost both my paternal grandparents and my uncle within a year and half of each other. My mental health took a dive and the only thing that gave me comfort was reading. But a lot of the books I read covered dark, heavy themes and toxic behavior that I internalized. Reading is still a huge comfort to me as an adult, but looking back, the way I coped with reading at that time in my life was really unhealthy for me. This book and author was one of my favorites at the time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
BOOK EXCERPT

When you were little, endure

your parents' warnings, then wait

for them to leave the room,

pry loose protective covers

and consider inserting some metal

object into an electrical outlet?

Did you wonder if for once

you might light up the room?

When you were big enough

to cross the street on your own,

did you ever wait for a signal,

hear the frenzied approach

of a fire truck and feel like

stepping out in front of it?

Did you wonder just how far

that rocket ride might take you?

When you were almost grown,

did you ever sit in a bubble bath,

perspiration pooling,

notice a blow dryer plugged

in within easy reach, and think

about dropping it into the water?

Did you wonder if the expected

rush might somehow fail you?

And now, do you ever dangle

your toes over the precipice,

dare the cliff to crumble,

defy the frozen deity to suffer

the sun, thaw feather and bone,

take wing to fly you home?

I, Pattyn Scarlet Von Stratten, do.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
BOOK EXCERPT When you were little, endure your parents' warnings, then wait for them to leave the room, pry loose protective covers and consider inserting some metal object into an electrical outlet? Did you wonder if for once you might light up the room?

# data[].attributes.body
My sophomore year of high school, I joined this poetry club in Venice Beach where I really figured out how much I love creative writing and poetry especially. Looking back, those Saturdays I spent getting lost in that tiny cramped bookstore filled with self-published chap books and then learning about how to write like William Carlos Williams were crazy impactful on me.

# data[].attributes.body
My poetry teacher was obsessed with this poem, and even though I thought it was dumb, a lot of my poetry still reflects his fixation on writing poetry with vivid imagery.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams | Poetry Foundation

# data[].attributes.body
After I did that poetry club, I revived the Creative Writing Club at my high school. It was really stressful for me because of mental health stuff in other aspects of my life, but I'm still proud of what I started. My big claim to fame from that experience is I created a poetry reading event that happened at the local museum. That event was my baby.

# data[].attributes.body
I definitely consider dance, exercise, sports, and any type of movement as a type of literacy. Even outside of exercise, there is a certain type of literacy in being able to read physical cues and create any type of body language.

# data[].attributes.body
For as long as I can remember, I was the clumsy one. I had terrible hand-eye coordination and I always came home with bruises and scraped knees. Looking back, I think a lot of my idea of myself as clumsy was a narrative I heard from others and internalized so deeply that it became truth. As a teenager, the truth of my clumsiness transformed into the idea of my being bad at sports. It's kind of heartbreaking looking back because as an adult love working out and getting stronger, but during my teenage years I had such a deep shame around what I saw as my physical deficiencies. That harsh judgement of myself definitely, in part, came from my own perfectionism. I'm not a natural athlete, and, as a perfectionist, I resented myself every time I didn't do some type of exercise or sport perfectly.

# data[].attributes.body
As an adult I've learned that I love working out and all types of exercise. It's endlessly frustrating that I've only realized this as an adult with intense chronic pain problems. Still, here are some of my favorites, as well as things I want to pursue but have been holding back on because of my concerns about my pain limitations.

# data[].attributes.body
I've known how to swim as long as I can remember, and it's still my favorite form of exercise.

# data[].attributes.body
I really want to learn martial arts. I admittedly have a deep love of full contact sports, and I always say that in another life I became a UFC fighter (and that's Israel Adesanya, my favorite UFC fighter).

# data[].attributes.body
Nowadays, most of the writing I do is for tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPG's) like Dungeons and Dragons. I've run a couple games and one shots, and played in several campaigns. There's a lot of rules knowledge required for any TTRPG, but there's also so much space for creativity. I personally love the character building, as a game-master, the world building.

# data[].attributes.body
I learned the piano at 5, and even though I didn't stick with it for very long, I still use the knowledge I gained.

# data[].attributes.body
In elementary school, I started playing the trumpet. That deepened my musical literacy a lot, and I continued to build on that when I kept playing trumpet in middle school. I stopped before high school because marching band was not for me. But! I haven't forgotten how to read music, or the theory and practical portions of instrument playing.

# data[].attributes.body
In February, I started taking lessons for the acoustic guitar. I'm really enjoying learning it, and my previously developed musical literacy helps a lot even though it's been more than ten years since I last played an instrument. It's also a great way for me to work on letting go of my perfectionism.

# data[].attributes.body
As an adult, I am a voracious reader. There are some "canonical" literary books and writers I like reading (looking at you Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Zora Neale Hurston, and Shakespeare), but for the most part, I much prefer other types of works. I love historical romance fiction, especially Regency and Victorian Era romance with a queer twist, and fantasy and sci-fi, YA or otherwise. However, my number one go to for reading is fanfiction. I read ridiculous amounts of fanfiction every day. It's relaxing and soothing and I can't remember the last time I went to sleep without reading first.

# data[].attributes.body
Another genre I love, that has earned it's own spot, is comics. I used to read tons of American superhero comics, but for the past few years I've read mostly manga. I read lots of shounen, which is a genre that's mostly action/adventure), and my favorite is Boku no Hero Academia. But Fruits Basket gets a special shout out for the being the first manga series I ever read to completion.

# data[].attributes.body
I'm also an obsessive music listener. I love finding meaning in lyrics, and nothing hits quite as hard as great album or playlist. One of my favorite hobbies nowadays is creating playlists, which I think is a unique kind of literacy in and of itself. Here's one I made for my friend as Christmas present.