If you had asked me two or three years ago if I would ever willingly read an autobiography I would have answered with a quick “No.” I never liked biographies so why would I like autobiographies which to me were the same thing as a biography just written by the person the book was actually about. However, a few summers ago, I started reading The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant and I was hooked. After that I immediately started reading Amy Poehler’s Yes Please and since then I’ve mostly been reading autobiographies. At first I thought it was just a weird phase I was going through but recently I’ve put thought into it and I realized why I loved reading them so much.
Autobiographies are much more relatable than biographies since biographies are typically written about extraordinary people while autobiographies are written by normal people who have a narrative that they would like to share with the world. It’s true that autobiographies are still about extraordinary people, like I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai but the way the book is written allows the reader to see how the writer is a normal person who just had a lot of courage. After reading Mindy Khaling’s autobiographies I felt like I knew her. She seemed like the kind of person you would run into on the streets and be able to have a normal conversation with. Autobiographies helped break down the walls that make the people we see on our television screens more real. You start to see them as a person and not as someone who only exists on the screen.
Reading autobiographies are amazing also since they show you how being extraordinary may not be so out of reach. All of us has the potential to be extraordinary in the fields we pursue as long as we keep an open mind to everything and follow our passions and stand up for what we believe in. I think everyone in their twenties or late teens should consider reading a few autobiographies about people who inspire them. It helps you see that extraordinary people are just regular people. You also get a first hand account on how they got to where they are today and often times they will let you in on the little secrets of staying sane while your world is changing and how to have courage to stand up for what you believe in. Reading about people’s lives can inspire us to also lead extraordinary lives. After reading all these autobiographies, I have become inspired to lead a life that is just as great as the stories I read about so that I can one day write my own autobiography.
