Starting Over

                I have never been that great at introducing myself, an instance where I actually began with “Hi, you don’t know me,” comes to mind, but I suppose this is a good place at which to begin. Anyways, reading has always been an activity I have enjoyed. However, it would be a far stretch to say I still read as often as I would like to. In fact, I can barely remember the last time I even thought about reading on my own.  So it is with this I come to the goals of this blog-read more frequently and more actively as I did when I was younger as well as regain some of the reading skills that have weakened as I lost time to churn through books.

                Growing up, I would read entire books in one or two days. While they were not books of great literary merit (the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series more than anything honestly), I still read nearly every day. I had a lot of issues speaking when I was younger and reading let me feel more confident with myself. In my head, I could ‘say’ words without mispronouncing them or slurring them together. Apart from this, reading was simply fun. Reading books, I was able to entertain myself by becoming immersed in the adventures and activities the characters in my books would set out on. Books really do open a whole new world for their readers. Perhaps my fondness for reading is why I was never bothered too much by having to read books in school. Although often tedious, reading in school taught me many valuable skills for retaining information and making important connections.  

                Active reading, active reading, and more active reading. Nearly every student has this concept drilled into them on a near daily basis from sixth grade onwards.  While time consuming, actively reading has helped me remember information about books I read over two years ago. Actively reading is also a great way to find themes and other deeper messages with relative ease. However, the active reading I have done for some time has been slightly different; I have been actively reading nonfiction texts. While the major ideas are the same, connections and deeper meanings that become apparent in literature are different than those seen in nonfiction. Nonfiction is typically straightforward while literature can twist and turns in a number of ways. Even when literature is linear, symbols arise around every corner. By reading more, I hope to regain my ability to fully comprehend a novel.

                I know I will not reach these goals overnight and that it will not necessarily be easy to accomplish. Even so, it will be an exciting journey. Maybe along the way, I will learn to love reading once again. I will begin this adventure with Alan Paton’s’ Cry, the Beloved Country. I am unsure if I will even enjoy this novel, but there is only one way to find out.