When I was young, my parents read to me frequently. I remember reading Dr. Seuss books such as “Green Eggs and Ham” and “One Fish Two Fish”. Even though I read these the most, the first book I was able to read was “The Story of Bambi”. When I was first able to read this book to my parents without any help, I was so proud and excited. I would carry that book with me wherever I went and tell strangers I could read this all by myself. This part of my life is so vivid and enjoyable to look back on. It inspires me to make sure I read to my children. Since I enjoyed reading about a Disney character, I will probably teach my children to read a book like Bambi. Growing up, I started to lose my interest in reading. However, now that I am a bit older, I like to read things that teach me something rather than novels. Some books I find interesting are “A Short Story of Medicine”, “Flying Handbook”, and “Ham Radio Handbook”.  When I read a book or handbook, I find it much easier to annotate than a novel. Therefore, I can grasp a better concept of the material. Audiobooks do not catch my interest because I always find myself zoning out and thinking about something else while listening to them. Occasionally I will listen to an audiobook about learning French or Morse code. These require intense concentration which I don’t find relaxing. Maybe I will find an audiobook about an interesting topic.

Since reading is not one of my interests, I often dread reading assignments in school. I was taught reading skills, but I did not absorb them because I wasn’t interested. When there was a reading assignment, I usually read SparkNotes and called it a day. However, over the past couple of years, I have been trying to appreciate and work harder on school. I have seen a big increase in my grades and grasp of knowledge. I even started reading assigned novels word for word and annotating to gain a better understanding. During the same time, I was taking an EMT class. The textbook was intimidating due to its size. I was taking this EMT class because I wanted to get my license. Everyone in the class was taking the class either because they didn’t get into their course or were gaining experience to appeal to the school to help them get into their preferred class. Our professor assigned two chapters every week. The material we went over in class reflected what was in the textbook, but it was very bland. Having read each chapter, I found I was doing significantly better than everyone else. After noticing my success, it boosted my confidence, but I didn’t want the appreciation or respect from my classmates or professor, I wanted to help my classmates understand the material so they could enjoy the class as much as I did.

Based on past experiences, I predict I will do well in this class. Of course, not without a challenge. I am not a strong or fast reader, but I want to understand the topics and produce quality assignment responses. I am not a fan of reading novels mostly due to the advanced writing. There are times when I cannot follow the author’s writing. Another problem I have with reading assigned novels is time management. There are times when I procrastinate and am unable to meet reading deadlines. Although sometimes I have less time than anticipated and complete other assignments before reading the novel, I then run out of time. I am just very thankful that I can get advice from my parents. They both have college experience and are familiar with the workload.