Donovan Montgomery

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1101
22 September 2014
Honestly I had no clue what to write about when starting this paper. I found myself
struggling to hit the four-page mark because elaborating and extending papers is not a
skill that I have acquired, I enjoy telling stories verbally. I figured everyone had
extravagant books that influenced them greatly while me on the other hand had simple
children books. Reading/ writing is really not my forte and I explained this throughout
the paper. I hope you enjoy this paper; its all real 100 percent authentic.
Comprehension and Opinions
When I was young, I loved reading. I have to give the credit to my mom and dad
though because they were the catalyst to my early reading habits. For a long time, they
would read a book to me before I went to sleep. I know that not many families now do
this, but it was something my family did almost as a form of bonding and we all really
enjoyed it. My favorite books to read or listen to were always Shaq and The Beanstalk by
former NBA star Shaquille ONeal, Just The Two of Us by famous actor Will Smith and
Salt in my Shoes by the NBA legend, Michael Jordan. These werent the only books we
read but I liked these books because I connected with each of them. All of them
contained morals that my parents instilled in me and themes that I would keep in mind
later like, valuing ones family and perseverance. Not only that, but I always loved
playing basketball and at times I had aspirations of being in the NBA. So, reading Salt in
my Shoes always gave me a little hope that I could do whatever I wanted to do, no matter

what people told me. Even after the bedtime stories stopped, my parents continued to
encourage me to read this, read that, read everything I could get my hands on. Only
because the more I read the more I would know. I liked the idea of knowing more and I
didnt have a problem reading everything as long as everything was something I enjoyed
and I connected with.
When I got to grade school, I continued reading books for enjoyment. Every time
I had the opportunity, during things like show and tell or leisure reading periods allotted
by the teacher, I would show my friends my favorite books like some of the ones I
mentioned earlier. Usually, they liked them just as much as I did and we could enjoy
them together. I was also part of the accelerated reading program. In this program, we
read books of our choice, answered questions about the book and received points for
every correct answer. I think that this helped me to develop my reading comprehension. I
had to really understand the book if I wanted to receive the maximum amount of points.
At the end of every month the students with the most points were rewarded with some
sort of celebration. I used to spend hours upon hours in the library reading so I could
score more points than my friends and brag about the rewards I got while we were at the
lunch table. I enjoyed accelerated reading because it was competitive and I was reading
books I actually liked.
As I grew up and advanced to middle school, reading was no longer for pleasure.
It was mainly used to gain further understanding of the things that were being discussed
during class. I often found myself reading books that I had no connection with, things I
did not find interesting. This is where my passion for reading died a little bit. This was
different from the Accelerated Reader program I was in before because I could no longer

read for enjoyment and get sense of gratification because I was now reading to pick up on
miniscule details so I could answer A, B, C or D on a quiz or test. I couldnt sit down and
focus because without enjoyment, I was just following words on a page. I no longer cared
for what I read; I was now only caring for what grade I would earn on my next exam. I
can remember myself going online to spark notes to do quizzes and read summaries right
before class because I knew that would help refresh my memory on the tiny details I may
have forgotten or skipped over while reading the previous night, but still this did not
always help. It seems like the teacher always found some way to find the smallest,
possibly nonexistent detail or word a question so difficultly that someone even after
reading and reviewing would get it wrong, and that someone was always me.
But as I progressed through school, teachers began giving less and less multiplechoice test and quizzes. Now teachers were integrating short answer and essay questions.
I thought this would be easier for a number of reasons. It seemed as if there would be
more leeway because there wasnt necessarily one right or wrong answer. I could write
my opinion on the topic, meet the required length make sure not to have grammatical
errors, and I shouldve received a 100. I was very wrong. Just like teachers would find
the tiniest detail to ask a question about, they would pick apart every detail of what I
wrote about and just like before, those tiny details made a big difference in my grade.
Apart from that issue, when I was in 7th grade, while working on a major project, I
realized that some teachers dont give you 100s if your opinion differs from theirs. I was
taught that everyone has an opinion and no opinion is right or wrong. I honestly
wondered what made teachers ask opinionated questions in the first place. This really
turned me off of writing. I could no longer express my opinion on topic I now had to

express what was deemed the right opinion. This is where I lost my feelings for
writing. I became pretty apathetic when I came to English class. I was no longer reading
books or writing for pleasure, but I was now only reading and writing because it was
required for class.
Now that I am in college, it is for the most part, the same ideas. Apart from
supplemental readings provided in some of my classes, I am mostly reading textbooks
that I have no interest in, but I am required to read if I plan on doing well in the course. If
I want to continue to be a good student, I know that this is what I have to do. I have to
accept that more than likely, I wont enjoy the things that I read. Despite the fact that I
feel like I am always reading something, I noticed that I dont read as much as I could. I
am constantly hearing of people telling their friends of some book that they read that they
liked, or hearing from my friends about books that they like. Im realizing that I could, if
I found the time, go back to reading books for enjoyment. The only reason I stopped was
because I began reading books for school, which in my opinion, are some of the most
boring books anyone ever has to read. Of course, I would have to find somewhere to start
and rediscover books that might spark my enthusiasm, considering Ive only been reading
the bare minimum for such a long time. But it can be done. I can probably take a little bit
of time of each week or month and go to the library and pick up a book and start reading
for pleasure. Maybe this will help me rediscover my love for reading or maybe it wont. I
guess we will never know until I have to write another literary narrative.