I remember when I was no more than four years old, and my mom would read a book to me before I went to bed every night. She would help me put on my pajamas, brush my teeth, and help me to cozy up in my bed. Every single night, she would make sure that I got a backrub, so that it was easier for me to fall asleep. Immediately following, she would walk over to the wall full of books. This wall was fully adorned with children’s books, fairytales, action, murder mysteries, and everything in between. She would go to the section of the wall that held the Dr. Seuss books, along with many others – and would ask which one I wanted to hear for the night. I knew them all by heart, and could recite the majority of them by the time I was five. My favorite book, out of them all, was titled “A Fish Out of Water”. Most nights, I would ask to hear this book – it made me so happy to hear about how the fish was safe by the end of the story.
This was only the beginning of my learning to read and write. As time passed, me and my mom would switch roles, and I began to read these books to her. She loved hearing me enunciate the words, very patiently, allowing me to work my way through these books until I could read quickly and efficiently. Reading these children’s books helped to stir up my love for reading in my childhood, and it gave me the foundation to succeed in school, and get ahead of many of my classmates when it came to reading and writing.
In school, I was never the most popular kid. I played sports, but I wasn’t ever very good at them until high school – so in middle school, I never liked recess. I wasn’t invited to play basketball or football or foursquare or kickball – and it never bothered me once. I was just fine with being myself, doing my own thing. I would grab a book from my locker, sneak over to the library during recess, and read while all of the other kids were outside. On the slight occasions when teachers would find me and send me outside, my book would come along. I loved reading action novels in elementary school, especially long ones. I would essentially fly through books, and it was never about trying to get better at reading – it was always about separating myself from my reality and jumping into the reality of whoever I was reading about. I loved being able to jump into a different world, and forget about everything going on in my life. As this occurred, through the rest of elementary school, I subconsciously learned more than I expected through my reading. I knew how to spell paleontologist, and soliloquy, and a whole host of other words by the time I was in the third grade. I even knew what they meant. I soon got put into the Gifted and Talented section of my school, and that is what started my hard work through middle and high school.
In middle school, I read like it was nobody’s business. I read and read and read until I was either too tired to stay awake or my book got taken away. I kept learning more and more, and this set me up for success in high school – On my ACT, I received a 36 in both the Reading and English sections. I am very glad that I spent all of that time reading when I was younger – because it not only gave me a source of joy when I felt like an outcast, it gave me the knowledge and the opportunity to seek a better future for myself. Had I not started reading when I was young, I would have never been placed in accelerated classes – and had I not been placed in accelerated classes, I wouldn’t be pursuing the degree in Accounting I am currently shooting for.[mu1]
Because of my extensive reading, my writing was initially ahead of many of my peers; but as I grew older, I realized that reading wasn’t enough to develop my writing skills. I took multiple composition courses at Northwestern, and in each course I took, I was able to see my writing skills improve more and more.
Beyond college, I am finding that my writing skills work for my betterment far beyond the use of essays. I have recently been speaking with lots more people than I am used to speaking with – and every time I do, I notice how much more fluid I am with speaking with others. Even my basic conversations are so much better, because I learned how to effectively read and write. As time goes on, I learn more and more about the skills I have acquired stemming from my learning to read and write, and I am continually learning how to use them in different areas. I am excited to see where this attribute of mine will eventually take me.
Thesis or focus
The essay lacks a clear thesis for me to restate. Based on the focus question, a possible thesis could be, “my relationship with my mother played a significant role in making the reader and writer that I am today”.
Overall organization
Yes, the essay is great as I can easily follow the flow of ideas.
Paragraph organization
The essay has well-organized paragraphs with each of them having a topic sentences while the rest of the sentences in the paragraph build the topic sentence.
Style, grammar and mechanics
I could not find any problem with these aspects in the essay.
[mu1]Could you please elaborate on how the reading and writing skills are helping you in the accounting course that you are taking
