Editor’s note: Caroline Swain, an eighth-grade student at Julian Middle School in Oak Park, was chosen to read her essay during the Writing Matters authors series at the Hemingway Museum in the Oak Park Arts Center on Sept. 13. At each gathering, a student is selected to read an original essay on ‘Why I love reading and how reading can benefit everyone.’
Reading books has made a big difference in my life. My mom taught me how to read when I was 4 years old. My dad read to me every night. My teachers at school helped me with my reading, too. Oak Park Public Library, my school’s library, and book stores in Oak Park also helped me with my love of reading because I have been checking out or buying books from them since I was very young.
My vocabulary has increased because of reading. For example, when my mom makes lemon meringue pie, I always tell her that her pie is “scrumptious” instead of using the word “delicious.” When my older sister, Julia, won the concerto competition at Oak Park and River Forest High School, I told her I was “astounded” instead of using the word “surprised.”
Books take me to a different world. They make me feel the emotions of characters. If the characters of a novel are happy or sad, I share their feelings. For example, when I read E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web and the books in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, I cried.
Books give more details on everything — plot, characters, and motives — than the movie. So if a movie is based on a book, I try to read the book first; then I watch the movie.
Reading has helped me with grammar. For example, I try to say, “Julia and I are going to the park” instead of “Me and Julia are going to the park.”
Reading has helped me get good grades. It is a fact that when students take tests, they score high because of reading. For example, according to an article, “Independent Reading and School Achievement,” by Bernice E. Cullinan, which was sent to me by the American Library Association staff member Karen Muller, “The premise that literacy is associated with school achievement, participation in a democracy, and self-fulfillment is widely held.”
I have become a better person because of reading. When I read about Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s positive contributions to their societies, I got inspiration to help others. When I was 7, I donated 10 inches of my hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides wigs for kids who have lost their hair due to illness. A few years ago, when I went to visit my relatives in India, I gave toys to poor Indian children.
I contacted the Library of Congress and asked them, “Why is reading beneficial for students/teens?” I would like to conclude this essay with a quote from an article by Laurice M. Joseph which Karen Jaffe, the librarian sent to me:
“Children with positive reading attitudes tend to be willing to read, enjoy reading, become proficient, and become lifelong readers. What follows is an adult who has acquired knowledge and skills, along with a good vocabulary, that provides a foundation for career success, as well as a devotion to reading for entertainment and pleasure.”