Reading is our greatest Teacher
Dr. Seuss once said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you 'll go.” In my life reading has allowed me to escape the world around me and learn and understand not only myself but also the world and the purpose of life as a whole. By the time I was in 6th grade I had many books, but I also wanted to fit in. One day I thought it would be a good idea to sell all my books so I could go shopping for new cloths to conform. This one moment has formed and altered me as a reader forever. Reading and our experiences with books give us new meaning to life. In Frederick Douglass’s, “Learning to Read” and Richard Rodriquez’s “Aria” and in my own life experiences …show more content…
He explained that the book gave new meaning to him as a slave and made him understand just how cruel slavery was, a thought he had already had before but he now had words in a book to back up these ideas. This is what books do for me. They give purpose and worth behind my thoughts. When I sold my books I sold away this purpose that these books have given me. I felt confused and lost without my teacher, books. Douglass also says, “I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt that I should have killed myself” (Douglass 639). The books he read taught him of the possibility of freedom. Without this knowledge of freedom he would have no hope to live. Books offer knowledge and in turn give hope for better days. I could have used my books to learn and enjoy life but instead I sold them and lost this …show more content…
He says that, “...they romanticize public separateness and they trivialize the dilemma of the socially disadvantaged” (Rodriguez 453). I can relate to Rodriguez in a different manner. In his journey to learn English and to read he struggled to fit in with the public society. I felt the same way which lead to giving all I could to just be a part of this society. In the process of fitting in I began to lose myself. This also happened with Rodriguez, while learning English he lost the Spanish culture he had at home. Rodriguez also said, “The belief, the calming assurance that I belonged in public, had at last taken hold” (Rodriguez 449). In his journey to “American citizenship” Rodriguez had to assimilate into American society. This same “assimilation” I felt in middle school. I began a person of the public, I was no longer the private girl reading the books and getting lost in my story, I was the girl who just wanted to fit in. I was lost. Until I found reading again and began to
Dr. Seuss once said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you 'll go.” In my life reading has allowed me to escape the world around me and learn and understand not only myself but also the world and the purpose of life as a whole. By the time I was in 6th grade I had many books, but I also wanted to fit in. One day I thought it would be a good idea to sell all my books so I could go shopping for new cloths to conform. This one moment has formed and altered me as a reader forever. Reading and our experiences with books give us new meaning to life. In Frederick Douglass’s, “Learning to Read” and Richard Rodriquez’s “Aria” and in my own life experiences …show more content…
He explained that the book gave new meaning to him as a slave and made him understand just how cruel slavery was, a thought he had already had before but he now had words in a book to back up these ideas. This is what books do for me. They give purpose and worth behind my thoughts. When I sold my books I sold away this purpose that these books have given me. I felt confused and lost without my teacher, books. Douglass also says, “I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt that I should have killed myself” (Douglass 639). The books he read taught him of the possibility of freedom. Without this knowledge of freedom he would have no hope to live. Books offer knowledge and in turn give hope for better days. I could have used my books to learn and enjoy life but instead I sold them and lost this …show more content…
He says that, “...they romanticize public separateness and they trivialize the dilemma of the socially disadvantaged” (Rodriguez 453). I can relate to Rodriguez in a different manner. In his journey to learn English and to read he struggled to fit in with the public society. I felt the same way which lead to giving all I could to just be a part of this society. In the process of fitting in I began to lose myself. This also happened with Rodriguez, while learning English he lost the Spanish culture he had at home. Rodriguez also said, “The belief, the calming assurance that I belonged in public, had at last taken hold” (Rodriguez 449). In his journey to “American citizenship” Rodriguez had to assimilate into American society. This same “assimilation” I felt in middle school. I began a person of the public, I was no longer the private girl reading the books and getting lost in my story, I was the girl who just wanted to fit in. I was lost. Until I found reading again and began to