<p>The prompt was: Describe your greatest passion in life.</p>
<p>My greatest passion in life is reading. Whether it be a #1 New York Times Bestseller or a timeless novel by Mark Twain, a legal thriller or a medical thriller, fiction or non-fiction, a good book is hard to beat.
Having lived my whole life in a small Arkansas community of just over 200 residents, I understood that my opportunities were limited. As a result, I joined every club and competition available. Although these gave me an opportunity to learn and travel, they left me eager to learn more. Reading was my avenue to more exciting parts of the world. Through reading, I was able to visit the jungles of Brazil, the skyscrapers of Los Angeles, the Parthenon of Greece, and the ancient ruins of Mexico. I could even visit the Moon or Mars!
Even before I could read, I loved stories and books. My parents would read to me every night before I fell asleep. Because of this, when I entered kindergarten, I was well ahead of my peers. My kindergarten teacher commented to my parents about how I would sit in the library and read to the other students in my class. She was amazed at how well I was reading at such a young age. In first grade, my teacher gave me fifth grade level reading material, because I quickly became bored with the normal work.
By the end of fifth grade, I began to run out of books to read in the elementary library, so my teacher let me go to the high school library to check out books. I was also chosen to be on a library committee to buy new books for our library. A fellow student and I, along with the librarian, went to buy new books for our schools Accelerated Reader program. At the end of the year, I received a medal for Most AR Points by a Student. I was always the top reader in our school, usually reading three times as many books as my classmates.
In high school, I became interested in many different types of books. John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and Dan Brown emerged as three of my favorite authors. I read their novels and a few other bestsellers, in addition to many literary classics. I just recently finished reading Al Gores new book, An Inconvenient Truth, which I enjoyed immensely. Currently, I am engrossed in Paul Suskinds novel about Americas exploits since 9/11, The One Percent Doctrine.
Reading has helped me rise to the academic level I am at today. Even though I took full advantage of the limited AP classes offered at my school, I recognized that larger schools offered many more academic options. Reading helped me bridge the gap between educational opportunities.
To me, reading is more than just entertainment and education. It has allowed me to travel not only to locations, but also to the past and the future. It exercises my imagination and continues to leave me hungry for more knowledge.
The one downfall to my love of reading is that my eyesight has suffered. My optometrist said that, sadly, avid readers usually have poor eyesight. Thankfully, however, I have perfect 20/20 vision with my contacts in, or while wearing my coke-bottle-thick glasses.</p>