Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved reading. Neither the subject matter nor the genre mattered — I devoured every writing piece I could get my hands on. Junie B. Jones, Harry Potter, even the science magazines my elementary classes were forced to read. When the Scholastic book fairs came around, I was that kid picking up every book that caught my eye and getting disappointed when I didn’t have the money for the stack of books that wobbled precariously in my little arms. My fifth grade Language Arts teacher had a small bookshelf in her room which kids could check out books from. Near the end of the year, I started a new book series. I was so enthralled with it that I brought it home and forgot to return it. To this day, it still sits on the bookshelf in my bedroom.
Anything that involved words and letters was, and still is, my specialty. I frequently placed high in spelling competitions, even making it so far as to be accepted into a state-wide competition. Unfortunately, I didn’t pass that one, but I never stopped trying. In eighth grade, I joined my school’s FBLA club, or Future Business Leaders of America. There were different categories to choose from, each one correlating with business whether it be a math topic or an English one. I, of course, chose one of the English subjects to compete in. At our state-wide competition, I managed to secure second place. That is my proudest academic achievement to date.
When it comes to writing, I never really jumped into it until about sixth grade. My Reading teacher expected journals from us at the end of the work, and each day held a new creative writing prompt. I wrote poems, I wrote short stories, I wrote essays. I never stopped writing. Throughout the years, I attempted to continue writing short stories but never found the motivation to complete them. The one activity I’ve always found pleasure was reading and writing poetry. Poetry helped light the way out of my darkest moments. It healed my heartbreaks, it inspired me, it pushed me and kept me determined through school and work. My love for poetry got me accepted into the National English Honors Society at my high school. No matter what I go through, I know I can always fall back on poetry.
English is, arguably, the most important subject no matter what career field one chooses to go into. Learning how to correctly form a sentence and have it flow properly gives one a huge advantage over any other applicants they may be competing against. Language is the foundation of the world, it is what has shaped societies around the globe, whether it be in Pig Latin or sign language or even hieroglyphics. Without it, humans may very well be mindless. Head nods and grunts can only get one so far. Despite the indignation that comes with me admitting how much I adore the humanities subjects, I know the world would be lost without it and I treasure the knowledge I gain at each turn.
