Learning to read is something that the average student experiences in kindergarten, and Erica was no different. As they say, practice makes perfect, and she definitely wasn’t lacking practice. She read everything that she could get her hands on. If you were to ask a family member about her love of reading, they would laugh and fondly launch into stories about her goal to break the record of “Most Books Read in a Year” during her time in elementary school. Everyone reads for different reasons. It can be for fun, to learn something, or just to understand the hype of a recently released book, but she mainly reads because she can’t get enough of the pictures that books create in her mind. It’s not a difficult task, reading only requires a passion or curiosity. Being interested and engaged with what the author is saying is what makes reading so easy. When Erica is engaged and can connect to a book, she will fly through it. When something is boring and unrelatable for her, that is when it becomes hard. Don’t even think about asking her to read a textbook. She chooses her books depending on her mood. Sometimes that means she wants something funny and lighthearted, other times she wants a Stephen King-esque thriller that will terrify her. No matter what, she loves books that give her a different perspective, or that teach her a lesson she needs to learn. Erica reads whenever she has a free minute, and even when she doesn’t. It’s never surprising if she procrastinates a little on necessary tasks just so she can finish a chapter. Reading allows us to experience different situations through text, even if we’re never exposed to them in reality. It opens new worlds and opens our minds, in a way that nothing else can.
Erica doesn’t consider herself a strong writer, but the few skills that she does have come from what she has observed when reading. Reading other works is very beneficial when it comes to learning things like grammar and other technicalities, but personal style is something that comes on its own, and Erica is still trying to find hers. Most of her writing only occurs due to classroom assignments, but writing can happen for almost any reason. People write in order to share an experience or lesson, they write to connect to others, or they write just to organize their thoughts for the day. In order to write well, you have to know the intention behind the piece, and you have to believe in what you are saying, otherwise nobody else will. Erica likes writing fictional pieces, but what she truly enjoys is writing research papers. Analyzing information and learning new things about a specific topic is so intriguing for her. There are so many things in this world to be inspired by, regardless of what kind of piece you are writing. Her ideas can come at random moments or they can be well thought out personal stories. The best way to help Erica develop her work is to ask her questions, and give her helpful feedback that she can use to improve herself. She doesn’t write stories or papers as often as she should, but her days are filled with post-it note reminders and emails. Writing is a long process for Erica. It is filled with many drafts and outlines that never end the same way as they started, but it is one that she sees as necessary and important. |