Hi, my name is Amy, and I'm a book-aholic
If you read the information on my profile...go head and do it I'll give you a second...it is by no means my life story. Who could fit their entire life in that space? However, this blog is dedicated to something that does make up a large portion of my life. Simply put; books. For the last four or five years, my high school and college career has been focused solely on one thing, become an English teacher. No matter what it takes, ignore the nagging feeling in the back of your mind telling you that you don't want this, just do it. And up until recently it's been an good process. I really felt, for a period there, that this really is what I'm meant to do. Inspire (ideally) thousands of kids to love reading, and to cherish the written word like I do. It has only been in the last few weeks that I decided to actually listen to that voice in the back of my head, and basically throw my plan out the window. In all honesty, this scares the shit out of me. Now before I get ahead of myself, I don't have to change my major, I don't have to drop out of school. I'll still graduate when I thought I would...if not sooner. But changing your life plan, if only slightly, is fucking scary. Like it says also in my information, it has been a journey of probably close to ten years now, consuming as much literature as I can. Now I've always been a reader. My Mom taught me to read before I even started school. I read as much as the next kid growing up, it wasn't until high school that literature became this all encompassing entity in my life. At the time in high school I also loved to write. I told myself I should be a journalist. And while I still love to write, that passion has dwindled since high school. After I realized I would never be a good enough writer to do it professionally, I decided around my senior year of high school, to be a teacher. Specifically an English teacher...of course. Even then, when I decided that I should be a teacher, I don't think it was for the right reasons. I loved, more than anything, reading and I excelled in English. I thought, why not? I could do that. I could be a teacher. It was never "Yes I am destined to be this." And that is the unfortunate case with a lot of people today, they are doing whatever will make them money, whatever falls into their lap. It may be foolish, it may sound corny, but I don't want to settle. I just didn't realize this until very recently. Up until around two weeks ago I was still okay with settling. I began my clinical observation hours this semester. For those of you who are not hip to that lingo, it just means I have to sit in a middle school and high school for 40 hours, and observe a real English teacher in action. I use the present tense because I am still doing this. It has never felt more pointless. Well...it has made some impact on me. It made me realize that teaching is not what I want for myself. Which I guess in the long run, will make this a rewarding experience. In the end its better I figure this out now, than a year from now when I would have been getting ready to student teach. When I finally said it, not just in my head but out loud, "I don't think I want to be a teacher anymore, " it was like a huge weight was lifted off my chest. I was standing in my bedroom, the words were directed at my boyfriend, Nick, but I think I was speaking to myself more than anything. Immediately I felt lighter. It scared me, saying those words out loud, but somehow I felt happy. I knew then, with that feeling, that I was making the right decision. After that my true ambition became pretty damn clear. What I want to do, with the rest of my life, is read...and get paid for it =] Now while I do realize this is close to impossible, I could pursue something pretty damn close. Book editor/publisher. I entertained this idea in the past. I let the glorious dream of reading for a living dance around in my head, out of reach of reality. Now, it will be a reality. I will make this happen for me. When people ask me what I'm talented at the first and only thing that comes into my head is reading. How can a person be "good" at reading? Painting, writing, playing an instrument, those are talents. Reading? That's not a talent. At least that's what I told myself for a long time. However, reading, successfully being able to read and analyze literature, is a skill I have honed. I read fast, I read critically, and I read well. Not counting the fact that I read a book or more a week. So when I say I read a lot, its the complete truth. I read a lot. More than the average college student that's for sure. This blog is not only to share my passion with the rest of the world, it is to hopefully get a footing in the book review world and see what I can do with it. What this long protracted speech comes down to is this; my future may be more uncertain than ever, but I couldn't be happier about it. I will find a way to still inspire kids to read like I did, and still do. Eating up novels like they're candy. I should warn you before hand, I may be 21 but the large majority of what I read is YA, or young adult literature. I feel if adults can write books for teenagers, I can read and review them. I'll be honest, I love YA. People have tried, and failed, in the past to move me from YA to adult, because let's face it at 21 I am, as much as I hate to admit it sometimes, an adult. I can't break this habit though. YA has stuck with me since books took over my life. So if you're interested in "adult" books, I suggest you go somewhere else. Unless I get a request this blog will be devoted in large part to the YA books and authors I love so much. Hopefully I will get a following on here. Even if it's just my friends and family, that will be a good start. And one day I'll be working for Simon and Schuster or Scholastic, or Penguin or any of the other countless publishing companies, and I will be reading for a living. Just like I was supposed to do all along.
Enjoy =]
