For the Love of Learning

Throughout my life, I have kept many of my passions a secret. I believed that their exposure would be detrimental to my social status. Now, being mature enough to understand that popularity is not nearly as important as I once thought, I have decided to periodically confess my guilty pleasures. This is one of those confessions:

One of my earliest memories of school is from third grade. Every day after lunch recess my classmates and I would enter the classroom and a math worksheet would await us on our desks. We were instructed to complete it, and upon completion were entitled to “free time”, during which we were free to play with any of the games in the classroom, read or socialize.

This was my favourite part of the day. A boy in my class named Logan and I would race to see who could finish the worksheet first. I didn’t win every time, but between him and I one of us was always the first of the class to finish. It felt great to speed through it, mind working in top gear. On the days that I was first to finish, I felt like a champion as I walked up to Mrs. Gallant’s desk to hand her the sheet, all eyes on me.

I have always enjoyed my education as much as I did in the third grade, but as I grew older I was not as quick to show it. I would make excuses on school-nights to get out of hanging out with friends so that I could focus on my homework and complete it to perfection. Throughout elementary school I received straight A’s almost every year. My teachers would always show me praise, but encouraged me to apply my knowledge in class discussions. I feared that this involvement would put me into the category of a nerd or geek. This translated to high school where I continued to hide my love of learning.  My grades fell slightly due to lack of participation, but my pursuit of knowledge stayed strong.

Just as I have always looked forward to each school year, I look forward to working towards a university degree in the next few years. My mind is as spongy as ever, and I intend to soak up as much as I can.

Max Carrington is a 21 year-old writing student. In his spare time he can be found in the gym, at the movies, playing sports, listening to music or nestled in a comfortable spot reading literature.

Some blogs Max follows: 

Dork Shelf l Modern Superior l The Movie Blog

Literary Loner

Throughout my life, I have kept many of my passions a secret. I believed that their exposure would be detrimental to my social status. Now, being mature enough to understand that popularity is not nearly as important as I once thought, I have decided to periodically confess my guilty pleasures. This is one of those confessions:

I became very fond of my studies at a young age and was very interested in reading. Throughout elementary school, we made weekly trips to the library where we were told to take out as many as three books. Most of the children in my class took out the minimum of one, and the book would stay in the back of their desk until the next trip to the library, where they would do the same. I however, took out two or three books each week and read them thoroughly. I had burned through many series by the time I became a teenager, including Magic Treehouse, The Hardy Boys, Goosebumps and Harry Potter. I had become a keen reader by the time I entered High School.

Ninth grade is usually when you will make friends that will stick through the following three years. This was no different for me, as I fell in with a clique and made many friends. I shared many interests with these new friends including snowboarding and hockey. One thing that none of these new friends were interested in was reading.

Out of fear of rejection, I decided to keep my passion for reading a secret. I piped down in class when we were discussing some of my favourite books like The Catcher In The Rye and To Kill A Mockingbird, even though I had plenty to say on the subject matter. Looking back, I feel that this decision was detrimental to my high school experience. I realize now that even if I were patronized for my passion for reading and knowledge of literature I would have proven to be strong enough to ignore it.

I find it difficult to look back on my four years of high school with regrets, and while I sit reading some of my favourite authors like Mark Twain, J.D Salinger and Stephen King I can’t help but wish that I had been more involved in discussing their literary merit with my teachers and peers.

There’s a lesson here. Be yourself.

Max Carrington is a 21 year-old writing student. In his spare time he can be found in the gym, at the movies, playing sports, listening to music or nestled in a comfortable spot reading literature.

Some blogs Max follows: 

Dork Shelf l Modern Superior l The Movie Blog