No Pill for Loneliness
It was one hot summer day in 1998. I remember the year clearly because it was one year after mother left me for Paris. She was pursuing her career abroad and was only returning briefly to visit me and my grandparents for one week. I moved back to our own home to stay with her. During the day, she would ask me about my new school, do laundry and cook, just like old times; I would answer with simple sentences like “it’s OK” or “I’ve made friends” and help her with the chores. When she went out for grocery shopping, however, I would insist that I stay at home and read. As much as I enjoyed reuniting with my mother, I somehow thought reading alone was what I preferred to do. I would randomly grab a book from the bookshelf and sit at the edge of the bed to devour it.
This time, a green covered book on the top shelf caught my eye. There it was, the Greek Mythology, a ginormous book for an eleven years old with the illustration of Zeus holding the lightning bolt on its cover. I had heard
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I felt less clingy, less irritated and much more self-reliant. Reading kept me busy so I didn’t have time to indulge in self-pity. More importantly, I could interact with the characters from great books and absorb strength, wit and courage from the best authors of all time. There was also an unexpected twist in my reading journey. By bringing my book collection to school and exchange with my new classmates, I established long lasting friendship with those who shared the same passion for reading. While I still needed to rush home after school, we now spent a lot of time between classes discussing book plots and characters. One of my new best friends, a witty girl with Bob haircut and cat-eye glasses, introduced me to Homer and the Greek Mythology which sparkled great interest in me and I had always wanted to read its entirety ever
In “Sharon Cho” from Speaking of Reading, Sharon Cho discusses how, why and the positives to reading. She read everything, she was sick and out of school a lot and reading was what she would do when she was out of school. Simultaneously, while she was reading she picked up on many things including, she now has a better vocabulary and she is more creative. After all, reading makes Sharon feel good about herself, superhero comic books made her feel grand. She felt like she could be a superhero, and felt like she was.
This is the first of many entries in this little red book. I hope the words I record in its pages stand out in the way that this journal did when I first came upon it. It was one of those dreadful, fourteen-hour workdays in which I was tasked with cutting the excess thread of the shirtwaists. I’d never been particularly good at sewing, so I was stationed with the other young and inexperienced girls.
In both “The Boat” and Brooklyn, the families are torn between several incidents or situations that occur during them. Conflict an occur frequently between families or friends when difficult situations rise to the surface. The stress that occurs during these stories shows the tension between staying home or leaving in the book Brooklyn, as well as in “The Boat.” In this essay I will discuss some parts of the stories that showed tension that has occured in the short story and the book as well. Especially, I will discuss the difficulty the boy had to endure, and how his choices impacted his future relationship with his parents.
I began with an endless list of books I wanted to read as soon as possible, and I had incorporated a portion of my day dedicated to reading. Even before the school year started I always enjoyed reading, but now I find it difficult to open a book; not because I do not enjoy it, but because I have prioritized that time for other things. As I am reflecting on this now, I have become disappointed in myself that I am drifting away from one of my favorite and beneficial hobbies. I believe this change is a result of discouragement due to my excitement for the summer and the school year coming to an end. Furthermore, for the last few months I have become more stressed with my AP World History Exam, the second semester finals, and track coming to an end, leading to me pushing away the things I enjoy most.
Although they come from different backgrounds Mark Mathabane, Richard Rodriguez and Malcolm X all learned the value of literacy and importance it has for success. They had different opinions during their childhood but at the end they both agreed on what was important to them and what benefited them the most. Unlike Richard Rodriguez and Malcolm X's, Mark Mathabaneś childhood was different from theirs. His mother wanted him to go to school and get an education. Even though his father thought that school was just a waste of time, his mother knew that if Mark were to go to school he would have a better life than what he had growing up.
The conception of my love of reading began long before those long middle school nights, but grew exponentially during the phase of trendy teen books. Now, it’s 4 p.m., and I am at the mall with my family. My sister gravitates towards the Lush store, my mother towards
She argues that the stories we read become a part of us, influencing our thoughts, beliefs, and actions. I resonated with this idea as I have often found myself deeply impacted by the characters and narratives I encounter in books. These experiences stick with us long after we've finished reading, whether it's the protagonist's fortitude in the face of tragedy or a moral quandary that is discussed in a book. They influence the way we think and help us develop as people. In addition, books have the ability to motivate people and spark change.
After reading the books, they opened a new pathway to relating to other people for me. Similarly, Malcolm X felt “months passed without even thinking about being imprisoned” due to the fact reading had changed his life (X, 3). The author and I related on an emotional level; therefore we are free with the newfound ability to use our dialog to
According to the journal, books are uniquely suited to helping us change our relationship to the rhythms and habits of daily life in this world of endless connectivity. The are many reasons why reading literature is beneficial in this busy world,
For a long time, she tried to avoid the consolation from friends. I understanded her. So I took my responsibility and became more mature. I encouraged my mom to go outside, make some friends, and relax herself. I made myself more organized, so I wouldn’t be a burdensomeness dragging her.
Science has proven that reading can provoke positive changes in us as human beings. Annie Murphy Paul is the author of the article ‘Your Brain on Fiction’ published on March 17, 2012. Annie explains how researchers have discovered that reading can initiate different parts of the brain, this is the reason why sometimes literature can make the reader so engaged and attached to a piece of writing. Research also explains how reading has the ability to produce activity in our brain’s motor cortex. Finally, Annie explains how reading fictional pieces can change how you interact with other individuals.
Everything is just so much more interesting in books and sometimes it feels like I am closer to the book characters than to my real friend, even though they don´t even know I exist. None of my friends is very fond of books, they prefer to watch movies and tv-series and so do the rest of my family. I like that too, but it´s not the same thing. The thing with books is that you pretty much become the person you are reading about, you get to know everything about them, how they think and how they act. It have helped me through situations when I
Similar to Sherman Alexie, I grew up surrounded by books. Some of my earliest memories include my mother’s nightly Harry Potter readings as well as my grandmother’s inability to pronounce Hermione (She read it as Herm-i-knee). I can still feel the rush of victory that consumed me whenever I could pick out a word as I read over her shoulder. Despite these small victories, I never considered myself to be a reader.
During my elementary years, I don’t recall being interested in reading, but I do remember the first time I fell in love with it. I was in my 7th-grade reading class. I just completed a quiz when my teacher realized that I had nothing to do after. She offered me a book that I will remember for the rest of my life because it is the book that basically started my reading journey. It was called Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper, I loved the book so much that I read the whole entire series.
It was a marvelous experience to plunge back into the vast world of books, and it connected me with my classmates because we would have a new topic to discuss on a weekly