My love for the written word began long ago when my mother first began to teach me how to read. Before my mother even suggested it, I begged her to teach me how. Later that year, my biggest pride came from being the first in my kindergarten class to read on my own. Writing came soon after and from that time on, my love affair with books only grew.

In my childhood years, I was what my mother liked to call "independent." I filled my spare time with computer games, playing pretend, a lot of solitaire and, of course, reading. While others my age spent their afternoons in after-school clubs or involved in sports, I read inside on the couch; and while the girls in my classes had sleepovers, I fell asleep with my nightstand lamp and glasses on, book still open. I read so much and got so engrossed in my books that there were days I would wake up to read a book and not stop until I finished, taking breaks only for meals and chores.

As a shy first grader moved into her awkward chubby phase turned into a preteen, I did not make many more friends, but I did read more books. Finally, my insatiable search for reading material alighted on a particular series a little later than one might expect, but I got hooked much stronger than any may have anticipated. As anyone could guess, the series is "Harry Potter," and my instant love for the story only further developed my love of reading. I fell in love with the detail in the story, the complexity of the world Rowling created, and the dynamics of the characters.

Far from being a real-life Belle, however, my affair with words didn’t end at simply stories found in books but extended to my own writing. As I read great works of literature I wrote stories, poems, and essays as I took every English class my small-town high school had to offer, from the required freshman class to creative writing to AP Literature and Composition. But this has always been more than just school, and outside classes I began writing and reading poetry, from Shakespeare to spoken word, and I have not stopped since.

Now an English education major at Rivier, it’s obvious I have not lost this comfort in words. I watch slam poetry on YouTube, have a habit of making lists, write extensive amounts of poetry, and am rereading the entire "Harry Potter" series for the ninth time. I know that I haven't stopped loving books since I learned to read 15 years before, and words will only continue to be a constant and vital part of who I am.