night until I began to read

them myself. She read me many fairy tales including

those of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson.

She read from this big book with a golden spine that

always made me feel like a princess from one of its pages

and most vividly I remember this book called Biscuit

following a series of adventures in this young puppy's life.

friends quickly became he daughters of

teachers which meant they were pressured to increase

their learning opportunities, which meant there parents would

not allow them near a television, and reading become their

only outlet, so I followed suit. I remember sitting on top of the

slide in my back yard reading my first 'chapter book' as we

called them, and soon became fully immersed in the worlds

of the Rainbow Magic Fairies and Magic Tree House.

We spent time in class reading Junie B Jones, but

I wanted nothing to do with this ordinary girl doing

ordinary things so I grounded myself in the worlds of fantasy

such as Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and the Hobbit. At

this point, my favorite spot to read was the top bunk of the

bunk bed I insisted having even though I was an only child.

Felt so inspired by my teacher that always encouraged us to do

difficult things and to persevere even when we wanted to give

up. By extension she has a small fairy hanging over desk by

the name of perseverance. This was the year that I delved into

classic literature that I was honestly far to young for, but

nonetheless I pushed on. I remember reading Gone With

The Wind sitting on the alphabet rug of her second grade classroom

meant that I began to struggle heavily with the curriculum

and at a time when I probably could've used reading

the most I gave it up only listening to comfort audiobooks

while doing my homework to remind me of the people that

were always on my side. A favorite was Mysterious Benedict Society

because they were kids that could seemingly

do anything in a world where I struggled

with my times tables which I took much comfort in.

the American Revolution. I read both Historical Fiction about this

time and nonfiction dictating strictly the events in this war.