My Reading Addiction

         I was in kindergarten when I became addicted to reading. I had a best friend back then, and now some twenty years later I can’t remember her name. It was at the beginning of the year when we decided to have a contest. We were going to compete to see who could get to the highest level of reading by the end of the year.

         Back then even kindergarteners had to go for full days of school. We would show up to school and walk down the bright colored hallways towards our classroom. For some reason the kindergarten room was the class all the way in the back of the building. It was the farthest from the lunchroom, the office, and even the playground. I wonder now if it was to keep all of the unruly screaming children out of ears reach from people actually trying to learn, or at least acting like they were trying to learn. “L” and I were never those screaming children. We used to get in trouble for trying to read through naptime. We used to hide our books under our pillows until we thought the teachers weren’t watching. We used to get in trouble for sneaking off to the library to pick out new books when everyone else was just playing. We used to get in trouble for ignoring the teachers when we were sitting in that sunken pit for lessons on letters. I never understood that sunken pit, three rows of circled benches seeping into the floor, seeming to want to gobble up children who weren’t paying attention. And yet we were the quiet kids who wanted nothing more than to be left in peace with our books.

            I wonder if I should think it’s strange that I can’t remember L’s name but I can so vividly remember our competition. I don’t think it’s strange, though. I have always been such a competitive person. The thing I really wonder about is if I would have become addicted to reading if I hadn’t had that competition with L back then. I grew and became more awkward, spending my time writing instead of hanging out with friends. I felt like there was always some adventure waiting around the next corner but I could never find it. But books were always there for me. They were there to carry me away to a world more interesting than my own. Then eventually as I grew older I realized the one thing I want to do with my life is to bring that magic to someone else. I want to use my life-long addiction to bring joy to the world of readers. I would like to thank L for leading me there. I can’t remember who won that contest, but in the end I believe I did finding something I love as much as I love reading.