I'm Not Alone by Victoria

I'm Not Alone by Victoria - May 2017 Scholarship Essay

In elementary, we would do these reading proficiency tests. All we really did was compete against each other and see who could read the quickest. I didn’t really have a preference for or against reading until I found The One. Or technically, The Series. The books that got me hooked on reading was the Harry Potter series. It was amazing! Magic, fantasy, and adventure and Harry was around my age too!

Reading it took me to a whole ‘nother world and I was addicted. Day in and day out, we do homework, do tests, run around--it wasn’t particularly exciting. I never really liked playing tether ball or tag like the other kids. I had weak hands and poor hand-eye coordination and I was always It because I was terribly slow. However with a few words, I went away to somewhere else and got to watch a life that wasn’t mine with a vividness that TV could never possibly capture.

I became voracious with my reading. I read so much to the point that my mother was afraid I would become trapped in my own head and fantasy rather than facing real life. I wasn’t that obsessive, but mom worried. Reading let me be truly happy and helped me escape boredom. However because of this, instead of hanging out with other kids I just sat on my own with my nose buried in a book. When I was a kid, I was the type to be easily influenced because I wanted people to like me but because I would always be reading I would be on my own. It helped me to be able to stand on my own and be okay with being alone. Though, in a sense, I was never alone. I had the characters with me and their joy was my own.

It helped me get through the tough times of my life and shaped who I am today. Without it, I wouldn’t be me. I’m pretty sure I would be a completely different person rather than the studious and humorous me that I am now.