Bishop 2
Reading and writing has had a huge influence on me throughout my lifetime. Disregarding schoolwork, I have always been a reader and writer. I keep a steady journal and carry a novel everywhere with me. In 2011 I was involved in a DUI car accident and was sentenced to a substantial amount of jail time. I had never been in trouble before and I was petrified. Reading and writing helped me cope with the shock of this new world I had entered. For eighteen months my closest friend were my pad of yellow lined paper, my “county pen” and whatever protagonist I was reading about that day. I would get lost in the stories and I barely ever left my cell. I am eternally grateful to what books and writing has done for me. Technology is destroying the need for tangible materials, such as books, papers, and writing utensils. I believe in the near future society will only use technology, but to me there will never be a replacement for real literature.
Reading has always been a relaxing hobby I’ve enjoyed since I was a young child. Before I myself could read, my parents would read me a story every night before bed. At a young age my mother taught me the alphabet, and supplied me with a plethora of children’s books. I began to read myself to sleep nightly, starting with short stories and progressing to a few chapters of a novel. I love painting a picture in my mind about what I’m reading. Reading has always been associated with happiness for me. I still read often, spending much of my time in libraries and Barnes and Noble. The difference in concentration between e-books and real ones is unparalleled. There are countless distractions while reading on a tablet, whether it be a new Facebook notification or someones favorite video game. There is no comparison to the smell of a new book. The pages are crisp and the ink is fresh. With a physical book in hand, you can see the progression of the story with the wear and tear of the pages, the spine of the book becoming...