Personal Narrative: The Curious Incident Of Dog In The Night-Time

In third grade I dreamed of being an athlete. Despite mildly severe scoliosis and very limited depth perception, I was going to have a Gatorade sponsorship in my adulthood. However, one fateful day in third grade, as the result of an unfortunate face plant in P.E. class resulting in the loss of my front teeth, I resolved to change my future area of expertise from the realm of athletics to a more academic concentration.

I decided to start taking reading seriously. I memorized the Dewey Decimal System. I convinced the librarian to allow me to check out more than one book at once. I became curious about the stories on the pages and dove headfirst into the worlds created by the authors. My curiosity pushed me so far into the literary abyss until suddenly Harry was trying to win over an emotionally unstable Cho Chang in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

I soaked up the sharp wit of Lemony Snicket in A Series of Unfortunate Events and consequently developed a harsh sarcasm that has stuck with me ever since The Bad Beginning. Christopher John Frances Boone, with refreshing objectivity, taught me the value in having an earnest desire to do the right thing in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I learned that our actions, despite our intentions, deeply affect those around us in A Separate Peace.

As I read and absorbed, the stories provoked self-reflective questions: Why can't I drink from the fountain of youth like Tuck Everlasting? Why can't I love people the way Gatsby loved Daisy? Why do the Pevensie children find adventure through a wardrobe on a rainy day while I am stuck watching rain hit the windows as my teacher drones on about the difference between sedimentary and igneous rocks?

These thoughts bounced around relentlessly in my head, but I lacked both the confidence and eloquence to express my musings