Gracie, like many others learned to read from her parents. Her dad would read to her each night for an hour or two- most of the books being about dragons and fantasy and talking lions. Gracie learned to love getting wrapped up in a whole knew world and grew to read these books for herself starting at a very young age. Around her she found her friends didn't love to read as much as her and tried to wrap her head around why they weren't interested in the relatable characters, interesting plot and attachment you feel when you get into a series. To be a good reader Gracie believed you needed a sense of imagination and open mindedness. You had to be able to sit down and read for hours and not find it a burden. Gracie found this extremely easy for her and even in 4th grade was able to read the whole Eragon series while not getting bored- because she was able to dive head first into a story and practically completely immerse herself in it to the point it was all she could think about till she finished. The thing she did find hard though was when she was assigned books for class. She could finish the hobbit in one sitting but when she was given even a short chapter book chosen by her teacher she wouldn't be able to get through it even if she had a few days. Gracie always looks for books that have depth, character development throughout the story and some portion of fantasy. Most of the time she reads at home, finding she can't get into something if there is not quiet around her. Overall Gracie loves reading very much but has a lot less time available to her now since high school started to sit down with a book.
Along with reading Gracie is also a writer. She started writing at a young age too, finishing a 100 page story in her free time by 7th grade. She believes people write so they are able to express opinions, ideas, or just share a creative story with their readers. Sometimes it can be used as an outlet from the world too. Gracie believes its not very hard in order for someone to be able to write well. First and most important they have to have an active imagination and be able to think of many different scenarios. Next they need to have grammatical skills to some degree and a sense of humor to lure their readers in. Gracie likes writing lots of things. When she was younger it was usually things about magic places or super powers but as she grew older she learned to like to write about more relatable things taking set in high schools or neighborhoods but add a twist of fantasy to them. When she has the urge to write she'll first come up with the story in her head, thinking about multiple ways it could go and considering what point she wants to get across with the story. Most of her ideas come from her own personal experiences. She then sits down, most of the time in her bedroom, and begins writing. She'll write for a few hours till she's finished a few chapters and then leave the piece alone for a few days. Then she'll read it over again, edit it, and be able to come up with new ideas to add to the story. A lot of times she'll have a friend read it too. Their words of encouragement and tips on what words to use help her a lot. In general Gracie likes writing quite a lot and feels good about what she writes. Unless its from a few years ago. exam essay |