Gavin Christiano

Professor Haile Bryant

RC1000-170

30 August 2020

Project 1: Literacy Narrative

I remember the day like it was yesterday. Sitting in Mrs. Dowdy’s 6th grade class and being

entranced by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the first time, little did I know I would go on to

read the Harry Potter series 6 or 7 times throughout my school years. From a young age, I was always

invested in reading. When starting elementary school I would fly through book series like Magic Tree

House or Geronimo Stilton. I was never the kid to go home from school and watch cartoons because I was

infatuated with literature. This was primarily due to the fact that I was very timid as a kid and had a tough

time making friends. The books would be my safe place when I didn't want to be bothered.

As I progressed through elementary school I found myself another passion to pursue, this was my

passion towards competition. I began to play recreational basketball and soccer in 3rd grade and this

would stick with me all the way through high school. I loved the sense of accomplishment after achieving

a hard fought win or feeling even more motivated after a disappointing loss. Once middle school rolled

around I immediately tried out for the soccer and basketball teams. I made the basketball team in the fall

and then the soccer team in the spring so my schedule was packed for the year. Now that I was

representing a school sport, my devotion for competition was at an all time high. With that being said,

through all this hard work with school sports I still continued to read.

In middle school reading we were assigned AR Reading which only increased my desire to read.

This opportunity allowed me to combine my reading abilities with my competitive mindset because the

more you read the more points you received and my class had many very strong readers like myself. It

wasn’t until we started AR reading that I read books like the Harry Potter or Percy Jackson series

because these types of books gave you more points due to their difficulty. I challenged myself to be the
student with the most points so I read the most I’ve ever read that school year to try to beat my fellow

classmates. When the year was over it was time to reveal the big winner of the AR point contest, to my

surprise I didn’t win. Although I wasn’t the winner I met many friends throughout the year that shared my

determination and passion for competition through reading. In 8th grade, I joined the Battle of the Books

team for my school because my English teacher recommended it. The journey I had with my Battle of the

Books team that year was unforgettable and I’d recommend it to all the kids like me who loved reading

and struggled to make friends. This was a fun experience that enhanced my reading skills for entering

high school.

Once I started high school I thought it would be more of the same but it was like a flip switched

inside of me. I had lost my love for reading. In my free time I would be too bogged down with AP level

homework and sports practices that I rarely had time to pick up a book. Even reading a book for a class

felt like a hassle and I didn’t enjoy it as I had as a kid. It wasn’t until the end of sophomore year that I got

back into reading due to the help of my older brother. My brother and dad had always shared a bond over

the popular HBO show Game of Thrones. I wanted to join them in watching the show but they both

suggested that I read the books first. I instantly jumped on the idea and flew through the books in about a

year. Although a year may seem like a long time these books had very distinct jargon and not to mention

all 5 books averaged about a thousand pages each. For this reason, I enjoyed the show much better than

reading the books for the Game of Thrones series.

In conclusion, literacy is a very important skill in my life and even though sometimes we lose our

passion to read, it is always there inside of us. My reading journey had its ups and downs but in the end

I’m very glad that my admiration for books and literature has stayed with me even though I have a very

busy schedule.