Personal Narrative: How Reading Affected My Life

I sat in the back of the car with my head resting against the window, almost quivering in anticipation. The book in my hands was not long by my current standards, but 309 pages was a lot for an eight year old to absorb. After spending nearly a week carrying the first volume of Harry Potter with me everywhere I went, I was anxious and excited to finish the novel. At first, I had no intention or desire to read Harry Potter; on the contrary, the week before my dad handed me his copy of the first book, I had told a friend that it was “stupid” and not worth my time. I begrudgingly started reading at my dad’s request, soon marveling at the incredible world contained between the pages in my hands.
Reading Harry Potter flipped a switch for me and …show more content…
Reading affected my growth just as much as my growth affected my reading. Since I grew up in a conservative Christian household, my main exposure to new ideas came through books I checked out at the library or read in school. My upbringing left me initially averse to views that conflicted with those of my family, but as I began to read more widely, I realized that there are infinitely many valid ways to interact with the world. I soon found that my views differed greatly from my parents’ and accordingly began a long journey to come to terms with …show more content…
I credit much of this independence to my English teachers, but I was also significantly impacted by material I picked for myself. Describing a sheltered child with very little control over his own life, Ender’s Game had an enormous impact on me. I related to Ender’s struggle to be an individual in the midst of people telling him what to believe and how to think. After reading this novel, I realized that I had been desperately wanting to be my own person, trying to find my place in the world. Furthermore, I became comfortable questioning myself and those around me, finding freedom in the realization that I could pave my own