Once upon a time, when I was a child my father used to read to my brother and I every night. He would read fairy tales, adventure, and mystery stories for us. The most memorable and frequently read story was Bony-Legs by Joanne Cole. My father would change his voice for each character and you swear he was the witch. To this day he is still able to sound like the creepy, old, nasty woman and it amazes me. This book and his abilities, I believe, was when I truly became infatuated with reading.

During my school career I continued to read for pleasure and never truly drifted from the paranormal and fantasy genres. During middle school and high school years, teachers grew impatient with my resistance for their nonfictional and occasional reality or history fiction because I would be bored and confused by them. Throughout my school career textbooks, nonfiction, historical fiction, reality fiction, ect. has been difficult for me to read and process for understanding. Many times, I would feel as if my brain would truly shut down when such readings were given. Even so I continued to try throughout my middle school years and the some of high school. Although I would get decent grades, I felt they came more from the discussions in class then the readings at home. Therefore, by the time college began I would refuse to read such texts and assignments looking for other methods to complete tasks.

Grades continue to to be fair as my methods of cliff notes and discussions helped me complete class assignments. However the difficulty of understanding textbook and assigned readings remains. I learned that this is due to being a kinesthetic learner and not a visual learner which is why discussions help me comprehend more and my mind is not “blocked” with confusion. I become actively part in the practice or story. I still read for pleasure and vocabulary thus enjoying it greatly and with that joy stories provide my brain stimuli and engagement to continue.