Personal Reading Timeline by Mariam Damlakhi https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4 Important moments in Mariam Damlakhi's Reading Development en-us 2021-09-18 03:02:01 UTC 2025-01-27 23:20:01 UTC hello@padlet.com I don't remember but I was told that when I was younger my grandma used to read me bedtime stories to help me sleep at night. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1749933501 2021-09-18 03:08:52 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1749933501 The next thing I could remember was sometime around elementary school, I found out about a series called "Geronimo Stilton". I became obsessed with the books and read every single one. Most people I would talk to had NO IDEA what I was talking about and have never heard of it. It made me sad knowing there was no one who I could talk about it with but it was like my own means of escape. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1749936228 2021-09-18 03:11:41 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1749936228 I went to Islamic school in fourth grade. I didn't really read any stories except for my Islamic textbooks but they weren't boring like usual history textbooks. They told stories that shaped my religion and about prophets. Honestly, I wish I remembered more of the stories that were told. I remember bits and pieces, the main things but I wish I knew more. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1749938649 2021-09-18 03:14:12 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1749938649 In fifth grade during my last year of attending the Islamic Private school, I was in a class of only 3 people. Another boy was in fifth grade like me and a girl was in sixth grade. We didn't have enough students to have two seperate classes or even one but it was easy and fun. We spent the first two hours working on every subject and during our free time, we did whatever we want. The sixth grader in my class showed me about Harry Potter. I remember reading the first book and loving it. I believe it was then the reader in me began to grow. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752217375 2021-09-19 18:46:55 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752217375 Moving to a new school was difficult and life at home got difficult. I hated moving. Growing up, I used to spend a maximum of 1.5 years at an elementary schools before going to the next one. Not really knowing how to make friends or trust anyone, I decided to find another way to spend my time. Thankfully my six grade english class required us to start reading 30 minutes a day. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752221613 2021-09-19 18:50:27 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752221613 I remember reading Charlotte's Web. I remember sitting and analyzing it. We had these composition books where we would jot down our thoughts and then any connections and symbolism within it. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752223563 2021-09-19 18:51:49 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752223563 I found a book called Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. Within the first page of the book, I was forever changed. I thought, "this is how I feel." That book changed my life. I loved it so much, it came everywhere with me. 30 minutes a day before class wasn't enough for me. One day I lost a copy of my book and started crying. I immediately bought another copy and then found mine exactly two days later in the trunk of my mom's car. When I found out it was a series, I read books 2&3 before I stopped reading. For pleasure. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752227984 2021-09-19 18:55:20 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752227984 In 8th grade, I read Of Mice and Men. Surprisingly I actually loved that book. I thought I would hate classics. We read and analyzed it. Wrote in our composition books and to my surprise, we did the same book my freshman year of High School. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752232284 2021-09-19 18:58:40 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752232284 I was made fun of a little bit for loving to read, called a nerd. Not only by some kids at school but my brothers at home. Some of the adults didn't understand it, there were more pressing issues than reading a book. I never got to go to the library so I never finished my favorite series. It was then I stopped reading if it wasn't a requirement. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752234058 2021-09-19 19:00:14 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752234058 High School was a blur. I didn't read many books. Now saying this, I don't mean I wasn't assigned. I think I may have been assigned a total of 6 books. Of Mice & Men, 1984, Lexicon, Shakespeare, and I don't remember the rest. I can tell you I didn't read. Any of them. For Of Mice & Men, I read it the previous year and had all my notes. And for the rest, amid Lexicon, I used Sparknotes. I didn't care for the books really. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752240132 2021-09-19 19:05:11 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752240132 For Lexicon, it was my Junior year and we had to choose a book to read, I chose Lexicon by Max Berry. It reminded me of Shatter Me -both had eyes on the cover- so I chose it. It turns out our teacher was joining us and he chose... Lexicon. I knew I couldn't fake it. He would know thinks Sparknotes couldn't tell. So, I read it. And I enjoyed it, it made me remember my love for reading but I was scared to get into it. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752240636 2021-09-19 19:05:37 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752240636 When the Pandemic hit, Senior year came to a close much sooner than we all expected. I went through so much, I was glad I didn't have to go to school anymore. I hated it, I hated Choir, and I hated everyone. Too many fake friends stabbing you in the back, I was so happy but also sad. I wanted something to make me happy, I painted my room, changed my room, but nothing. One day as I was scrolling through Tiktok and that's when it all began. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752295387 2021-09-19 19:52:27 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752295387 Somehow I ended up on Booktok, a section of Tiktok dedicated to the book community. I saw videos repeatedly recommending The Selection Series and the A Court of Thorns and Roses Series, so I took it as a sign. I bought the first book of The Selection, and the moment I opened it. I couldn't put it down. I ordered every book in the series and bought every book in ACOTAR as well. I read and read and read. Read all the until my bookshelf grew. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752297514 2021-09-19 19:54:24 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752297514 I soon decided to make my own booktok account. Making videos of books and recommending. It quickly grew as my library grew. I started becoming an influencer for publishing companies. Reviewing books for Authors that haven't come out yet. And even started writing my own book that I hope to self publish in Feb 2022. mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752298568 2021-09-19 19:55:13 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1752298568 Personal reading update mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1941724395 From the last time I've updated this timeline, I can proudly say that I've read so many books in my free time. Especially since I've had a bread from school as well as some weeks where I haven't had a full workload. I've also gotten tons of books from authors and publishers that I've been wanting to read. ]]> 2021-12-11 13:22:11 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1941724395 Academic Reading Update mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1941726706 One academic reading update that I've engaged with so far is one I've done in my ENGL 60 course where there was this article (not sure the name haha) but it was about teenagers and social media. In the article they spoke about some statistics regarding when and what teenagers post on social media and such. I thought that it was a really interested one because I thought it was only me who noticed it about the people who I follow, which are old friends and acquaintances from high school. But to see that the same notion was applied to a lot of teenagers was amazing to think about. ]]> 2021-12-11 13:25:22 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1941726706 Aspirational Milestone mariamdamlakhi21 https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1942853696 After finishing Trevor Noah's novel, I really enjoyed the new sight to seeing something that many people talk about but in a light of someone whose lived it. I never really knew what an apartheid was or what it meant but I learned from him and his experiences. Because of this, I want to begin reading more biographies and memoirs to open my eyes to what people go through and learn new things. ]]> 2021-12-12 15:44:15 UTC https://padlet.com/mariamdamlakhi21/i55di5q2j4eqovm4/wish/1942853696