Literacy

While in grade school, I was placed in honors English courses.  I was forced into reading various novels each summer in preparation for the upcoming school year.  It was a tremendous turn-off to literature for me.  Sure, there were a few books that I would enjoy each summer of the selections for me but I felt like it was more of a chore than a leisurely activity that could be enjoyed.  On top of the novels that we were forced to read over our summer breaks, there were always a few novels scattered into the curriculum of each semester that I never could get motivated to enjoy.  It wasn’t necessarily because they were bad novels; it was mostly because of the feeling that summer reading had left with me in regards to reading in general.  Going into my junior year of high school, it was no different.  During the school year, we were even fortunate to read Moby Dick and a chapter on how white the whale was.  Is it really necessary to describe how white a whale is for an entire chapter?  Maybe, but it seemed excessive to me at that point.  It was during this semester where a teacher had a breakthrough with me as far a passion for literature goes. 

During this semester, my teacher did something that was new to me.  He gave the class a list of books and allowed the students to choose a book from the list.  He would also give out advice to students based on his knowledge of the novels and what he felt the students would enjoy.  When looking over the list, I wasn’t sure what book I would choose.  The teacher gave me a couple that he thought I might enjoy, but said he thought I would enjoy The Natural the most of the books that were available.  I took the teacher’s advice and chose The Natural for my book that I was to do a report on.  For the first time, I was completely enthralled in the book I was reading.  The story completely grabbed my attention and gave me a new outlook on literature.  It was that moment that I rediscovered how enjoyable literature could be.  I no longer felt like I was doing a chore, but was actually taking part in an activity that I could enjoy.