Dear Mrs. Boswell,
Just as many "hipster" and "eccentric" high schooler will being their letter, I too love to read. Sadly, but with a bit of satisfaction, I can sit for hours on end in one spot with a book glued to my hands. And I without a doubt, have read many books over and over, always finding something new the second or third time around. Since I can remember, my life has always been surrounded by books and the urge to read them all. My mom, just as Sherman Alexies father, is a lover of reading as well and for majority of my childhood, my mom was my best friend. My enjoyment for reading was bound to unfold. I am your quintessential book worm and proud of it. Though Sherman Alexie did not have this privilege as many of us kids do.
Unlike Sherman Alexie, I have never faced ridicule or contradictions for being a reader. Since the beginning, my family has urged my reading further and deeper. Though majority of my friends do not find the same interest in reading a book, they have never found the need to hold any sort of judgement against it. Not holding back their witty and smart comments about my embarrassing moments of me being caught sobbing to a scene of a book, they understand it's what I love to do. Alexie wanted a better life than what he was given and knew reading would take him there. So holding his head up, he faced the many contradictions from his fellow Indian peers on the reservation. Indian's hold the stereotype of being "dumb" and have no bright future ahead of them, why look for something else when you have everything on a reservation? Sherman knew better, he knew there was something more to life than on the reservation and he read all he could to achieve that dream. As Sherman states in his story, "I fought with my classmates on a daily basis. They wanted me to stay quiet when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers, for volunteers, for help." Kids lived up to what they were known for, they were expected to be stupid. And to see a fellow Indian kid excel in reading, while many struggled, was different and no body likes different.
I once read a quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong." And from that day, it has stuck with me ever since. The one quote spoke so loud and clear to me. Reading has not only impacted my life with the ability to have a wider vocabulary, but in a emotional sense as well. Being able to hold
