When I was younger, I was your typical Asian kid. I loved to watch TV, I loved to swim and I loved video games. Outside of school, those three things were pretty much what I did. I occasionally read a book from time to time, but I can’t say that I was a reader back then. The only thing I really did love to read were books like Harry Potter. So as a little kid that’s what I did, then came middle school and everything stayed the same, except that maybe I read even less than I did as a kid. Then came high school, where things change and you grow up. Up until that point in time, I was only pretty average in English and the books they made us read bored me. But things changed in ninth grade when I met Mr. Hara, one of the freshmen english teachers. He asked me to stay after class one day and asked me why my reading log was so incredibly poor. I gave him my honest answer: “Reading really isn’t my thing.” He looked at me quizzically, like I had just told him I was an alien. “No,” he said, “I think you’re wrong.” So we talked, and talked and talked. He asked me what I liked to do, who I usually hang out with, who I could relate to; he asked me what movies I like, what kind of burning questions I’ve always had. He asked me endless questions and at times, it they didn’t seem to be related at all to english or my reading log. A little over an hour later I walked out of his room with a sticky note that had a list of books that he recommended me. On the top of the list was “Interview with the Vampire” by Anne Rice. He told me that just for that week, I could forget about the reading log and the rest of the English homework and just focus on reading that book. It took me two days to read it because I had a hard time putting it down. My conversation with Mr. Hara taught me a little about myself, not alot, but enough to know what I appreciate in life and in stories. He taught me not to look for things that instantly catch my eye, but for the things that force us to dig deeper, try harder and force us to think. I read countless books afterwards, more than I could fit in that reading log. The books I read varied in genres, from action to fantasy, drama to romance. I found that there was something I could appreciate from any book of any genre and something that I could take away. From then on, I’ve found it very difficult to go through a day without reading a book. It has become more than a ritual, but something like a way of life.
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