What I Read and Why

In all honesty, I've hated reading for more years than I've enjoyed it. The endless amounts of books my teachers required me to read throughout elementary, middle, and high school pushed me away from reading. Just knowing I had to annotate a book or write an essay after reading it made me not want to read it. Along with the demands of school, my always crazy gymnastics schedule never allowed me the time to pick up a book I wanted to read. I had just enough time to read the required books, and that was it. Even in college, that statement still rings true. Being a college athlete, full-time student, and part-time worker gives me no time during the school year to read anything I truly enjoy. However, now that I'm in college and required summer reading isn't a thing, I find myself picking up books to read for fun during that time.

A majority of the books I tend to read are those that have become movies. More often than not, I refuse to see a move until I have read the book. For instance, when I heard that The Great Gatsby was going to be released, I immediately found my copy and began reading. (I had already read it in high school, but didn't really enjoy it because of all the annotations/writing assignments I was required to do.) I have done the same with The Hunger Games and, most recently, The Maze Runner. I like to be able to compare what goes on in the book to the movie.

In terms of a specific genre, I don't really have one that I enjoy more than others, and I couldn't tell you why that is. I have no idea myself. I do know I prefer fiction to nonfiction, though, because I enjoy the creative, imaginative side of fiction. I completely and utterly despise poetry. I'll admit that it sounds nice, but more than half the time I can't interpret what the author is trying to say.

I also really enjoy reading motivational quotes, which I think has a large part to do with me being a gymnast. Day in and day out in the gym, I have to be motivated to reach my goals. Whenever I have a bad day, I find myself reading over and over again ones I've found to be most motivating for me.

All in all, I read for my own enjoyment, but only when I'm bored of browsing the internet or scrolling down my Instagram feed. As bad as it sounds, it's probably the last thing I choose to do when I'm bored. The endless amounts of reading requirements my teachers assigned repulsed me from reading. I hope I can be a teacher who inspires my students to read.