✎ My Reading & Writing Journey.

My reading and writing journey began with me writing short poems describing myself, learning how to write my own name, and slowly building my vocabulary. In kindergarten and in elementary school, the teacher would help develop our attention span by reading out chapters of chapter books that were suited to our reading level. Around this same time, my brother was a toddler who had a curiosity for learning. He would often peer over and look at the books I would read. Eventually, I began to read aloud to him on a regular basis. In first grade, I had a spark of inspiration one day when I was playing with toys. I constructed a story about a girl and a giant and how they became friends(not realizing later in my school that there was already a book similar to my idea). My first-grade teacher greatly praised my work and used it as an example for her lesson plan where she instructed all the kids to write and illustrate their own color books. This is one of the very first times that I started to realize that my writing could be impactful. Around second grade, I became more and more interested in fiction chapter books, specifically science fiction books. One of the many books that caught my attention was the book “Tuck Everlasting”, in which a girl has a magical spring water that helps her live forever. I eventually would continue to start Vaishna's Musings in the winter of 2010, as a fifth-grader. My father recognized my potential in written prose, and suggested that I keep it as sort of public diary or log.

I spent the entire sixth-grade studying abroad in India, where for the first time in my life I was introduced to the European style of writing English. This proved to be a little difficult for me too and often times would frustrate me as I would be confused with the spelling and several of the grammatical rules in European English. However, looking back I feel that I have expanded the scope of my understanding of the English language thanks to this exposure. Returning back to California after a year abroad proved to be quite an adjustment, as the complexity of writing had dramatically increased. In our English class, the teacher would assign us many creative projects, some examples included writing different types of poems, stories from our life, analyzing the meaning behind songs, which all required critical thinking and creativity. My interest in science fiction books increased as we delved into cult classics such as The Giver. What was different about our interaction with these texts was that we were beginning to get introduced to the concept of analyzing texts for key concepts, character development, and sense of narrative. This built the foundation of my reading analysis for years to come. One of the most significant teachers in my high school would be my 8th grade English/History teacher, it is because of her teaching that I am the writer that I am today.

I entered high school advanced English having to analyze short stories over the summer,  In this class, we were introduced to concepts like Hero’s Journey with classical texts like Romeo and Juliet, which helped me understand the fictional texts that I would read in the years to come. In the years that continued, my writing and reading consisted of analyzing texts further for themes and style of writing, and the intention behind the author’s writing. We also explored the period of thought, and how these periods affected the style of writing. Finally, I ended off my English curriculum with my Science Fiction Literature class, where we explored the themes used in stories and how they reflected the society during that time. Throughout my writing and reading journey, I feel like my writing has drastically changed in its style and format, with regards to the teachers who have shaped me into the student I am today. In my years in university, I hope to continue learning new concepts that will help me improve my writing and reading skills for the better.