"You have a lot of...uh,...books," my friend said to me. In my small house, one thing there was always an abundance of were books. Years earlier, as a five year old about to enter kindergarten, I had made it my mission to learn how to read those books. Eleven years later, I feel that mission molded me into the person I have become.
I could not wait to know the secret that all the adults seemed to know. How were they able to conduct that magic whenever they looked at the page of a book? I made them read to me all the time, and forced them to let me read back. At first this consisted of me explaining what was going on in the pictures, although occasionally, it had been read to me so many times, I had the actual words memorized.
After I started being able to read on my own, I practiced on everything. Even when riding in a car, I read street signs as they passed by my window. Finally, I was introduced to the library, which I craved to visit every chance I got. Whenever I finished a new book, a euphoric smile spread across my face. I felt so mature compared to those other five year olds. I was simply counting the days till I could go to kindergarten and show off to my teacher that I could read!
My peers ponder why I love to read, but I ponder at the thought of them not sharing this love. Pardon my cliché, but reading really does take you places. I have been inspired not only to express my opinions, but more importantly, create new ones. I have learned that my academic intelligence stemmed from intellectual stimulation, which enhanced my abilities at school, and hopefully will lead to a college degree. That degree will be my ticket into whatever workforce I choose to be a part of in the future. If reading has such enormous powers, I am incapable of understanding why anyone would not want to gain them.
Books were never foreign to me. My whole life, I have been surrounded by literature. Not only was my house stuffed with books, magazines, and newspapers, but so were the houses of the rest of my family. My cousins, as well as my sister and I, were always encouraged to read, and as I have watched them grow up, they have all had similar reactions to mine when learning to read; they can never get enough of it. For as long as I can remember, and probably past that, I was read to every night at bedtime as a small child. Books were never strangers to me. On the contrary, they have always been the best of friends.
Because I learned to read at an early age, I have always wanted to be ahead of my peers in my learning ability. It gives me the drive to display my best work. To this day, I still read anything I can get my hands on, and though not quite as prideful as I once was, the five year old in me still marvels at my accomplishments, and gets excited when I learn new words.
On the basis of this essay, Rebecca D'Attilio was selected to participate in the New England Young Writers' Conference at the Breadloaf campus of Middlebury College, Vermont
EVEN STREET SIGNS
(an excerpt)
REBECCA D'ATTILIO, 2007
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