Julia Krueger Krueger 1

English 111

Professor Williams

September 8, 2019

A Reader Learns to Write

“One must always be careful of books and what’s inside of them, for words have the

power to change us.” (Clare). Cassandra Clare, the author of several young adult fantasy series,

wrote this in one of her books that is a personal favorite. I cannot remember a time in which I did

not read, and although I have always preferred reading over writing,

my love of reading has helped improve my writing skills. One of the

first events that tied both my love of books and writing together took

place in third grade. I participated in a group led by one of my

favorite teachers, Mrs. Greene, who took a select few kids out of class

a couple of times a week. She helped me write a letter to my favorite

author at the time, and I remember the excitement I felt being one of

the only ones to receive a response. I have had many people and

events that have pushed my literacy skills to where they are now.

Like most people, my mom was a huge influence factor throughout my life. Being a

reader and pre-school teacher, she knows the importance of introducing kids to the foundations

of reading and writing at a young age (​The Power of Reading​). From taking me to the library as a

child to giving me recommendations as I grew up, she has always encouraged my thirst for

books. I have her to thank for putting me ahead in my reading comprehension abilities, and

without her, I would have struggled significantly more.

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The library has been a happy place for me with its soothing atmosphere and silence. I

have gone to the library since I was a child, and I still visit often. The library gave me access to

so many styles and types of writings and continued feeding

what feels like an endless want to read more. Reading was a

quick and efficient way for me to expand my vocabulary and

challenge how I thought in just about any situation or

subject. Reading such a variety of genres taught me to

appreciate the complexity and genius behind creating a story

and characters. Unfortunately, the amazement I had did not encourage me to write. Instead, I felt

overwhelmed and I brought this feeling from creative writing to writing in school. When I did

try to write, I never knew where to begin.

Something I did not fully realize was a gift was the personal libraries that teachers had in

each of their rooms for their classes to borrow from (​Promoting your school library​). I can recall

searching daily through buckets and shelves for the next new book from kindergarten to seventh

grade. Half the time I would browse through the collections without checking a book out to read,

but the knowledge that they were there and the teachers wanted kids to read was comforting.

Looking back, I can truly thank and appreciate my teachers for the parts they played in my

reading experience, which later gave me an advantage in writing.

The majority of my life had almost entirely been taken up by reading all the books that

struck my fancy with little to no writing, but I started enjoying writing in sixth grade. Mrs. Amos

and Mrs. Thomas, the English language arts teachers, would have a prompt on the board for the

class to write about at the beginning of each class. This warm-up became one of my favorite
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times of the day when I could let my creativity flow in a structured way. I have never been

creative enough to whip up something out of

nothing. I have always needed a starting place or

something to go off of, so these stress-free writing

prompts were perfect. And at the end of the year

when each student compiled their writings into a

book of their own, I was proud of what I had accomplished (​What is Creativity and How to

Encourage Creative Thinking​).

As much as I enjoyed English in sixth grade, it never became my favorite subject and I

went back to only writing when required. The last weeks of summer before junior year consisted

of me regretting the classes I chose to take. When I signed up for each class, my mindset was to

get the classes out of the way. Taking what amounts to four English classes in one year terrified

me. I wanted the results and to become a better writer, but I was dreading all the effort I knew I

had to put in. Fortunately, I found that the teachers were far better than I thought, and I am glad

to be learning and improving at the same time.

Reading has been a consistent hobby, and I could go on about my favorite reads but

constantly reading also helped develop my writing skills. From my mom to the library to

elementary and middle school, each took a crucial role in teaching me the importance of

literature. Having access to a good education and instructors also makes writing less

overwhelming.