Falling In Love With Education by Kenadee

Falling In Love With Education by Kenadee - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

　　I was always expected to be smart.

　　I started off as the oldest child in an intelligent family. Being the main focus in my household I was spoiled with intelligence. The books before bed were a given and the reading and counting began before I had the understanding to know what knowledge was. Spending time with adults constantly increased my vocabulary. With all the resources and intellectual games I was granted as a child I increased my mathematical skills as well. It was no surprise to me when in Preschool I was above my peers in simple things like organizing blocks into buildings and using words other kids my age did not understand.

　　I can still recall when my mother would sit with me at night and read me Harry Potter at the age of 6. Much too soon my baby brothers were born and the time spent on educating me became limited, but that did not stop me. My mom no longer had the time to read to me at night and I yearned for the stories and the new vocabulary. I remember asking her about the absence of reading to me one night and she simply stated I should read the book myself. Reading by myself was completely new territory that I crossed uneasily as I picked up the fourth novel of Harry Potter, a 636 page book, and flipped to the bookmarked page.

　　I read every night. I still do. Reading filled my head with the imagination and creativity I craved and taught me to understand foreign concepts on my own. In first grade I aced all of the reading exams and was placed well above average in my age group. My reading buddies from fifth grade were shocked at my books I brought in to read to them and even more shocked when I could tell them in detail what had happened, but for me all of this seemed simply normal. I owe this to my endeavor with reading Harry Potter. I found a hero, Hermione Granger, that I wanted to be like in every way. She was smart, hard-working, dependent, and determined. These qualities inspired me to be the same. I also found myself developing qualities that the other characters possessed due to my love of the book.

Teenagers need to find someone to relate to and people that possess attainable qualities. Although the main characters in Harry Potter are wizards, they all still develop the basic values that we should all have. Harry is brave, intelligent, kind, and overcomes the trial of his parents dying. Ron is a good friend, funny, okay with not being the brightest, and overcomes the trial of coming from a big family where he did not get a lot of attention. They are normal teens with normal problems that we can all relate to. This book also taught me how to read and fall in love with the art of literature. I would not have the habit of reading I do now without this book and believe that reading a book that relates to you is what is necessary for that love.