As I have grown and developed throughout my life, reading has been essential to learning and growing both academically and as a person. Over the years, I have spent a lot of time reading books and pieces of literature crucial to my development; most of which I’ve read for school. Some of these pieces will go on to expand beyond the scope of academics and offer new perspectives on who I am as a person and how I live my life. One example of this would be The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore. The book follows the development of two young men and how their experiences, living situations, opportunities, and choices affected the person they grew into. During and after reading the book, I began to realize how fragile our lives truly …show more content…
Being increasingly conscious of my choices led me to live with less regret, even when the outcome was not what I expected; therefore resulting in a happier disposition. This new way of thinking, inspired by the novel, only encouraged me to be the best version of myself as a daughter, student, and person. In school specifically, the new perspective pushed me to study harder to ensure a better future that was more secure for myself, even when I felt burnt out. Appreciation for my life and those around me has constantly been amplified by the various books and stories I've read over time. Whether fiction or nonfiction, reading has exposed the stories of people and characters from different walks of life and opened up a doorway into a newfound appreciation of things I had taken for granted. A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park is a book that opened my eyes to difficulties I had never known. The gratitude instilled in me by this book not only changed my mindset to be more grateful, but it also changed my behavior. Afterward, I became more conscious of my water usage and began to conserve it more than I had …show more content…
Beyond newfound appreciation, the lives and stories found in literature and articles have grown my sympathy for not only those around me but others oceans away. Reading has also deepened the connection between myself and the rest of the world by developing my understanding of humans and human nature. Many historical texts offer an opportunity to look into human history and better understand those before us by building a bridge between the past and the present. This has been extremely helpful for me as I constantly find myself curious about societies and people of the past and how conflict came to light. As I have gone through school, I have read a vast collection of literature. Dissecting them both for school and myself has given me the knowledge to succeed in an untrustworthy world by better understanding human psychology and patterns. Lord of The Flies by William Golding is a novel I have recently read that better informed me on human nature and challenged past beliefs, especially concerning war. The violence portrayed in the book seemed so horrid that it was hard to imagine that hostile actions like those could occur in the real