My Story


Are you ready to be shocked?! Alright, here we go (hope you said yes..)!! I grew up HATING reading. I wanted so badly to be a person that just devoured books, but it never was me. I bought books and would get through maybe a few chapters but nothing more. I went through high school in all the AP English and Literature classes. I would tolerate the reading, but I didn't always "completely" read the books or even necessarily enjoy them. I remember a few of the books from high school that I loved like: To Kill a Mockingbird, Brave New World, Angela's Ashes, and Into the Wild.

Fast forward to my freshmen year of college, I remember packing and having absolutely NO IDEA what to bring with me (side note: so I brought everything...). My Mom had just finished reading a book that she said was super good and told me I had to read it. That book changed my outlook on reading and, honestly, probably my life journey and career path. The book was "My Stolen Life" by: Jaycee Dugard. This was the first book I remember just loving and that feeling of not being able to put it down. That book made me want to dive into more stories and made me into an avid reader.

Now, I won't pretend that the way I defined "avid reader" then is the same as I would now. I was simply excited that I enjoyed reading at this point. Up until that point, I had always wanted to be an elementary school teacher, specifically in the lower grades. I remember my Mom telling me to "just try" going into a middle school to teach. I had an amazing friend whom was a 7th grade Literature/Language teacher. This amazing friend allowed me into her classroom, first as an observer. Here, my love and passion for reading grew and this is when I realized I wanted to teach middle school reading!

Since then, I have taught 8th grade Reading for the past 4 years. I have fallen in love with TEACHING reading to my students and helping them to fall in love with books! I'm so lucky that in my job I get to talk about books with my favorite people every single day! 

I am so thankful for that one book that challenged and changed my views on reading forever and made me into the reader, teacher, and person I am today!


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