Samantha had a strong early love of reading developed through bedtime stories with her mother. This love continued through elementary school where reading was an important family activity. In middle school, Samantha used reading to escape and learn about the world, and it was her favorite class. However, in high school reading shifted to an assignment focus rather than enjoyment, which continued into college where socializing took priority. Today, Samantha has regained her enjoyment of reading by choosing books that catch her interest.

1. MY LITERACY JOURNEY Samantha Salvador

2. EARLY CHILDHOOD
As a young child, reading was a big part of my life. My
mother used to read to me each night before bed. My
absolute favorite book was “Goodnight Moon.” I loved
it so much, that pretty soon I was able to recite it from
memory. Reading was an important activity for us as a
family, and I believe that it led to my love of reading
later on in life.

3. ELEMENTARY
When I got to elementary school, reading was just as
important as it was during my early childhood years.
My mother enjoyed reading us the Junie B. Jones
books, and I can remember laughing until my stomach
hurt when she described a monster that would come
and try to measure her head with his mouth (leading
to the drool stains on her pillow in the morning). We
loved it, and we bonded over it. Reading also picked
up in school. As I got older, we started having to do
book reports and taking tests about the books we
read.

4. MIDDLE SCHOOL
Reading was still important to me during my middle
school years. I loved reading chapter books and feeling
so adult. With the older books came older themes. I
used books as a way to escape reality and learn more
about our world. We had a class called “reading” in
middle school, and it was always my favorite. I can
remember going on vacation and absolutely digesting
book after book on the beach.

5. HIGH SCHOOL
Reading for me took a turn when I got to high school.
Suddenly, it was less about reading for enjoyment and
more about reading to get the grade. Don’t get me
wrong, I enjoyed some of the required reading
materials. However, I also didn’t enjoy some of the
books we were assigned. I also didn’t like the tight
timelines that I had to meet. Reading a chapter per
night of a book that I wasn’t even interested in
seemed like too much. I think technology also took
over at this point. I no longer wanted to escape into a
book, I wanted to be on instant messenger with my
friends.

6. COLLEGE
Once college came, reading for enjoyment really fell to
the wayside. I no longer wanted to digest books, I
wanted to be with my friends. I once again had books
that I had to read in a short amount of time. I didn’t
enjoy this pressure. I did still read for enjoyment,
especially when it was a book that really caught my
attention.

7. TODAY
I still have a good relationship with literacy – even
more so now than high school and college. It feels like
it has come full circle for me since I am now able to
choose what I would like to read. I find that I am able
to really fly through a book when it catches my
attention. I’ve read books recently that I just cannot
seem to put down. It’s not always easy for me to find,
but it happens to be one of my favorite feelings. I love
the feeling I get when I am so interested in a book that
I begin thinking about it when I’m not reading.