The Art in Reading by Samantha

The Art in Reading by Samantha - February 2025 Scholarship Essay

There was a point where I didn’t have a single interest in school. Back when classes were structured one classroom, one teacher, one subject at a time, I didn’t find myself enjoying much of any of them. It wasn’t until fourth grade did I finally get the chance to see the differences in subjects. Reading and writing quickly became my favorite. More specifically, the weaving of words into images done with no picture paired with it. Reading was a gateway to spur various other interests.
All subjects in school are important but none are quite not like reading. It’s a method of perspective that images can’t easily represent. Putting oneself into another's shoes isn’t easy. A book however can do it. The first book I truly read myself was Guardians of Ga’hoole but I finished it’s side stories of Faolan in Wolves of the Beyond. A strange book to try and delve into, but for a kid (a kid me) it’s a mind-blowing world to explore my interests. It opened the door to the idea that reading is enjoyable, which began translating into even if I didn’t enjoy having to read a book for class that I could still find some enjoyment in trying to understand the idea of the story. If there was no story and it was an article then I could find interest in the facts I was learning. Reading taught me that so long as I could find myself liking the work I was doing then I could find myself understanding more.
Though reading and writing is more of my interests I attribute these skills in my ability to understand other subjects. Objectively speaking math is my worst subject. Pair math with equations and suddenly I don’t know what’s happening. Once I entered high school and truly acknowledged my love of reading I realized it’s all reading. Obviously it’s all words, letters, forming together to create a word, but if I could read the equation one way I can read it another. The act of changing the way I view things to see something in another light helped me to better understand certain equations and set me up for success. At the very least it allows me the opportunity to be able to attempt the question. It’s not just in math that reading has helped me. In other areas I notice patterns, remember terms based on their spelling, use reading techniques to find things in paragraphs, and more.
Reading has changed the way I learn for the better. Being able to read has provided a good form of entertainment as well as offering a way to solve problems based on understanding how reading works. It has provided a multitude of uses for my life. Unlike most subjects where I do use them I do not fully understand them yet, I understand reading, I understand the importance of a good story and an objective research paper. Above all else reading will absolutely remain a positive interest in my life beyond school.