Jonathan Pawlowicz
English 250
4 May 2017
Books and literacy have played a crucial part in forming me into the person that I am today. As a child, my father read to me every night before bed. Around the 9th grade, I discovered TED, a website where intelligent people talk about their life’s work in less than 15 minutes. These videos cover everything from the fight against STDs to how to become a computer hacker. However, my favorite experience that I would like to share is when I fell in love with books in the 11th grade.
When I was only a few years old, around 5, my father started telling me stories from the Bible. This would not have interested me if they were from the 11-point font books that fit in the palm of somebody’s hand. This book was larger with pictures filling the book that told of stories from the bible. Every night would tell me a story from the book, called the Children’s Bible. There were stories of Moses, and Noah, and David and Goliath. This time reading from the Children’s Bible with my father eventually changes to me reading other books that my parents would buy for me, such as the Magic Treehouse series. My reading habits as a kid eventually peaked my curiosity about TED videos.
TED videos were, and still are, one of my favorite ways to waste the day away while still feeling productive. Watching a handful of TED talks to me is my equivalent to binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy, it is addicting and impossible to stop once initiated. Their fountain of different topics makes it so that I will never run out of videos to watch. With TED talks, I have learned about nanotechnology, been inspired to learn a new language, learned how to become a better listener, and the list never ends. It was these stories that lead me to the book that made me fall in love with reading.
A good book can occupy your thoughts better than any social media . If knowledge was Nicotine, a book would be a cigarette. The book that initially got me hooked is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I could not put this book down. The reason I couldn’t put it down is because of how many of his examples were relevant in my everyday life. This book led me to surge forward in my pursuit of knowledge and enjoyment of good books, such as books written by Malcolm Gladwell.
My literary experiences have chained together throughout my life.. Reading The Children’s Bible with my father taught me how to enjoy a good book. Reading the Children’s Bible lead me to read other books. Those books led me to TED talks. TED talks taught me how to view my life in a new perspective which increased my urge to read… This book addiction taught me to sit back and relax and enjoy life. Whether or not this chain continues to add links or my craving for knowledge gets stronger, I know I will love the road ahead. Where does your chain start?