Reply to comment

My earliest memory of pursuing literacy is of reading the Harry Potter series with my mom. My mom, who is an educator, adores young adult novels and fell in love with the Harry Potter books as so many other people did. I remember getting so excited to get ready for bed because it meant I would be able to find out what happened next in Harry’s life. I remember when we first started the books we listened to chapters on tape but soon transitioned into shared reading time where my mother would read a couple pages out loud and then I would do the same. I loved listening to my mom read (she was so good at it!). However, I also felt frustration at not being able to read as well as she did.  I stumbled on the words and had to read much more slowly.  I also couldn’t create different voices for the characters as easily as she could.  In the face of this frustration I remember pushing myself to become a better reader.  My passion for the storyline and also my love for reading with my mom truly motivated me to become better at reading and a literate individual. Eventually my sentences flowed more easily and I didn’t have to concentrate as much on reading. I began to internalize the story instead of focusing all of my energy on getting the words out. Never in my life had I connected so strongly with a piece of writing. At some point I began reading the books on my own and when the seventh book came out I read it in one weekend. 

After reading the first Harry Potter book, my love for reading really took off and hasn’t slowed down since then. This experience is so vivid in my memory because it represents how I developed my love of reading and also symbolizes my transition from reading words to internalizing the meaning of a story.  It showed me that words could be exciting and passionate and that it was a social experience I could cherish with my mom.