My Literary Childhood

I believe some events or habits that one may have in his or her childhood have a major impact on the way their lives will turn out. At the very least, they may contribute to a person's array of interests and creativity. Reading is something that started rather innocently with me. It is hard to locate the point in time when I started reading, but I am able to recall certain factors that came into play.

The first, and probably the most important factor, was Disney. Those wonderful movies that  I watched again and again were never dubbed. Instead, I was hearing the same phrases over and over again, and was slowly starting to pair them up with the letters that appeared on the bottom of the screen. Even today, if I watch The Little Mermaid, Aladdin or Pocahontas, I can remember the lines even before the characters utter them. The love for Disney was further developed by means of comic books. Comic books are fun for every age, but when you are a seven year old Disney enthusiast, Mickey Mouse is a major figure and a hero. I still have boxes full of Mickey Mouse comics in my old room in my dad's apartment. Revisiting them is like seeing dear old friends again after a very long time.

I would often hear my parents say to their friends that I was reading ferociously. This would always be accompanied by praise. Thus, my love for reading was forever cemented. The comic books and the movies paved the way to more serious things. I believe that it helped my perception of the written word - by combining the text with colorful images, I was quickly able to, in my head, turn what I read into action. Those first books were usually my mom's old childhood favorites. Enid Blyton was my favorite author back then, and The Famous Five was a book serial I could never get enough of. Other favorites included Heidi, as well as Emil and the Detectives and Little Women.

Thinking about this now, I must have been very lucky in the upper grades of my elementary school. I would guess that, for most children, this is the time where reading is the absolute last thing on their minds. Of course, I too had friends that I played or went to the movies with. But I was also bullied at school. And the only refuge I could think of at the time was the library. The two librarians - one a young woman, always in tune with the newest trends in literature, and the other approaching retirement, but still very hip - grew so accustomed to me, that they taught me how to use the library system not only to check out books by myself, but also to other pupils. At the time, I was also allowed more risqué books they would rarely allow the other students to check out. My favorite one was Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, and the gritty reality of young Christiane's life made me appreciate the security I felt in my own.

However, no talk of my literacy would be complete without mentioning the hero of my childhood, Harry Potter. It may seem silly talking about it now, but Harry was more than simply a wizard for me and my generation. He also had to do his homework, socialize with his friends (even fight them sometimes!), find a date to take to the prom and, ultimately, grow up. With Harry, in fact, came the toughest lessons.

Throughout my young life, I never stopped reading and I do not think I ever will. Reading is fun, but also educational. Every book I read helps me be more perceptive of the world around me, as well as more analytical and critical. Books give me a sense of security and possible solutions to my problems. Reading makes me literate - be it in the library, or in life.