Reading History Writer’s Memo

Because my reading history memory happended such a long time ago, I really found it difficult to recall much of anything. I could remember a simple basic idea but other than that, nothing came to mind–no details, no descriptions, and not many facts. Therefore, there was hardly any genuine truth to my story, or in literary terms, my “happening truth” was a bit lacking. Luckily, however, what transforms a memory into a story is the addition of what is called “story truth,” and for me, I had to add plenty of this. Since my memory of the event was nearing the borderline of being non-existant, I was forced to invent much of the story. Most of the narrative describes things that probably didn’t really happen, but they sound reasonable enough that they are believable. Without the “story truth” aspect, the narrative would more than likely be boring and plain. But by implementing invented truth, the story is transformed into something worth telling and listening to. Personally, my favorite part of my reading history was when I cautiously entered the office thinking I was in the clear, but then quickly realized that I was caught in the act. Unfortunately this part is “story truth,” but I liked it because it added to the story and made it more interesting. Instead of just cutting straight to the main part of my small recollection of what happened, I was able to tell of a mini adventure of how it came to be.

The Great General Colin Powell

General Colin Powell–what a cool guy! He has a corvette (it’s gray, not red), he used to have his own personal plane, and he gets free hot dogs on the streets of New York. As part of Miami University’s Distinguished Lecture Series, General Powell gave an incredible speech a couple of days ago, and I was fortunate enough to be in attendance. The bus ride was crowded and long and the weather was freezing, but the trip to Millett Hall was well worth it. I must say that I was very impressed with Gen. Powell and his speech–he was extremely well spoken, and he held the audience’s attention the entire time. His ability to get his messages across while using a wide variety of humor made the speech an enjoyable thing to hear.

Gen. Powell touched on a variety of subjects, both on a personal and world level, including his past war experiences, his second retirement, the issue of terrorism and 9/11, the strength of American patriotism, the war in Iraq, immigration, the K-12 educational system, and more. He explained the importance of becoming involved and giving back to the community, as well as not hiding from your problems and facing reality head on. I thought his story about his experience of being stopped and searched by security at the airport to be quite ironic considering, as Gen. Powell said, that he was the one who had implemented the added security procedures following 9/11. Particularly touching was the story about the hot dog vendor in New York City. Powell grabbed the complete attention of everyone listening as he told of the vendor’s gratefulness to be in America. The story really illustrates the hope that America provides to those who come here searching for a new and better life. I also enjoyed what Gen. Powell had to say about leadership. He said something to the extent of “Good leaders inspire, not motivate. The best leaders can inspire followers, so they can do things through self-motivation.”

Overall, General Powell’s speech was well delivered, and it conveyed a positive message. I was impressed with how he answered some of the ridiculous questions that were asked at the end. One individual dared to try to correct Gen. Powell, which was uncalled for. That person should be, as someone from the audience yelled, “tased.” Nevertheless, attending the lecture was well worth my time, and I feel very fortunate and grateful to have had the opportunity to hear such a great man and role model speak.

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots are Super Bowl bound! But this comes as no surprise, as the Pats are the greatest team around, hands down. With Tom Brady at the healm, they are unstoppable. There’s only one more game left, and once it’s over, the Patriots will have completed their perfect season. Go Pats!!! 

Reading? No thanks.

I hate reading. Enough said.

Okay so that’s not entirely true, but for the most part, reading is not one of my passions. In fact, I rarely read which is a habit I’m not too proud to have. When I say I rarely read, what I am referring to are books. It all started at a very early time in my educational career when I happened to be an extremely busy individual. Sports took up the majority of my time, and it wasn’t just one sport but three, year-round, and with daily practices and games, I wasn’t left with much time to take part in things of lesser importance, such as, you guessed it, reading. I managed to make time for my homework as well as watching television, eating, surfing the internet, sleeping, and romance. But the whole reading thing never really found a spot in my schedule. Some may wonder how I managed to earn excellent grades throughout high school while never taking the time to read a single book. I’ll admit that Sparknotes played a part in my success. I learned something in high school, and that was the fact that I could easily get by without picking up a book, and by book I mean the novels and stories we get in English class and sometimes History.

Now that I am in college, things haven’t drastically changed. I do read textbooks simply because it is necessary for me to earn As. But as far as novels are concerned, I am still continuing my same old ways. Over the course of the first semester, my English class was assigned a total of five different books to read. How many did I read? A whoppin’ 0! Well actually I read five chapters of one of the books, but I don’t think that counts. Despite my lack of reading, I still earned an A in the class. I didn’t say this before, so I’ll say it now. To me, reading is not fun, enjoyable, or any other positive feeling. Reading is the devil in disguise and I absolutely hate it! (Once again, I am referring to books.)

Although I don’t necessarily read books (with the exception of all seven of the Harry Potter series, which I absolutely love), I do, however, read other things. Every so often I will pick up the newspaper and read from it. I will even read from certain magazines, such as Sportscenter and ESPN. But more often than that, I read many different things on the internet–nothing in particular, just whatever I find that sparks my interest. So when I say I hate reading, I guess I really only mean fictional novels as well as most non-fiction.

 A part of me wishes I did read more, but since I’m fine with the amount of reading that I currently do, and since I can still get by school-wise, I don’t see my habits changing anytime soon. If only my reading habits had been better while I was in middle school I think I would be a more avid reader, but they weren’t so oh well. I understand why some people love reading, and I understand that reading can help your writing, your vocabulary, and help to make you smarter. I agree. But I feel that most books are just too boring and time consuming to be worth my while, and the books that I’m sure I might actually enjoy, well I’m just too lazy and busy with other things to pick the book up and start reading.