A Personal Reflection on Reading as I Turn Another Year Older

In just a few days I'll be turning 32.  I know, what?! That number sounds crazy.  I feel like the past decade went by in a blur.  With my birthday approaching, it's caused me to reflect on a few things.  And since this blog is about reading, I decided to share some of those reflections about books & reading & storytelling & whatever else I can make the connection to, here.

Little Ginger didn't care too much about reading books.  Sure, we had books in our home.  And I can remember flipping through the pages of stories that were given to me (or passed down to me - since I am the youngest of four girls).  But I never had that passion, as I do now, to want to open a book and lose myself within the story.  I think I was more about coming up with the stories when I was young.

I do remember playing make believe with random objects I found lying around.  Yes, there were stories about hair brushes and water bottles.  My imagination went crazy apparently when my mom would braid my hair.  I also remember building little villages in the dirt, creating a world among rocks and twigs.

As I grew older, my want to create stories didn't go away, they just became a bit quieter.  I can remember as pre-teen Ginger listening to music and imagining a story to go along with the lyrics.  It's weird because now, as an adult, I look to music for a lot of inspiration when it comes to writing.  I guess that part of my imagination never left me.  Books began to filter into my life as a teenager, and I found myself enjoying a few reads in school, but visits to the library or bookstore were still not part of my routine though.  It just didn't click with me, yet.

Fast forward several years and mid 20s Ginger discovered a book about shiny vampires that completely changed my mind about reading.  I'm not ashamed to admit that it was Twilight that reintroduced books into my life.  It opened up a side of my imagination that had been dormant for many years.  I was struggling with a lot of personal things, one being the loss of my mom.  I was lost and confused as to what I wanted to do with my life.  Rediscovering books was like a wake up call.  It opened my mind, and my heart, to a passion that has now become such a huge part of my life. 

Opening a book, reading a story, changed my path.

A more mature Ginger is now well into a teaching degree, with just a few semesters left until I have my own classroom.  I am anxious, nervous, excited, overwhelmed, and so very much looking forward to teaching.  I am expecting it to be a huge challenge in my life, but I am welcoming it with open arms.  The idea to go into teaching was born because I simply love to read.  I thought, what if I could get a child to read and love a book, too?  Imagine what that can do for them... what paths await in their future.  If I can inspire one child to pick up a book, then I consider that a success.

So that's the last 32 years of my life, when it comes to reading & books.  I can only imagine what lies ahead... what stories I'll dream up next, and which paths will unearth themselves to me, simply because I've found a love in reading.