READING EXTENSIVELY

“MY READING EXPERIENCE”

Reading extensively is a habit that every student has to acquire if he or she has to progress in our present day world. Reading extensively helped me a lot during my primary and secondary school days. I remembered vividly, the Tuesday Night that I read all night in preparation for my mathematics examination. Extensive reading has also helped in widening my reading experience, because I have experienced a lot reading different varieties of books.

My reading experience started when I was little, about five (5) years of age. Even before I started reading on my own, my father used to teach me how to read. This, he was doing by reading out stories from books to my hearing; mostly at nights before bed time. My dad was a teacher and believed much that reading is the essential part of formal education. I could remember those days when he would come home tired, and refused telling us stories, I and my siblings will be sad all through the night. Then we used to live in Onitsha, a big city located in Anambra State, Nigeria. My stay in Onitsha wasn’t long because I moved away from my parents when I was only seven (7) years; I was living with an uncle who lives in Calabar. What makes me unhappy was that nobody will be reading and telling stories to me; I was then forced by my predicament to start reading on my own. The first book I read on my own if I could remember very well was “Better English”, an English text book that we were using in school in those days. The book was packed with different Stories, pictures and questions; at first, when I opened the book, and was glancing through it, I saw many stories and pictures. The pictures were beautifully drawn and the typing was neat also; I thought that somebody from somewhere a Good Samaritan I suppose will come and ask to help read the stories for me, but that wasn’t going to happen because everybody happens to be busy with one thing or the other, and my only hope then was my teacher, but he is always busy and could hardly have time for himself.

I was disappointed a kind of, seems to be lost in the world. At a point, I started reading by myself seeing that no one will come and help me out. My problem then was not that I can’t read, I can read on my self but, I cherish it most if someone was to read to my hearing. So, when I was reading one of the stories with the Title “Tortoise the Wise” I was very happy because, I understood how the Tortoise used to deceive people and claim their treasures. After school that very day, I went home and told my uncle about everything that happened in the school especially what I understood from the story I read. He was very happy and shook me vigorously, at first I was enjoying the shaking but, at a point I asked him I told him to stop because am feeling some pain. He took me inside, gave me food to eat, after the meal I took my siesta but before then, I read a book which he gave to me. In the evening, while we were sitting at the balcony of our house, my uncle asked me to narrate the story in the book he asked me to read, I narrated everything, to my outermost surprise, my uncle hugged and kissed me exclaiming “That’s my boy” I was wondering why he did that, he later told me the reason why he did that, and that reason surrounds about my coming to his house to start school. He later told me that my parents sent me to him so that I will learn how to read and write on my own. In excusing that if I stay with them they might be forced to spare the rod and spoil the child. When I finished my primary school education, I left Calabar for Port-Harcourt. When I was going to Port-harcourt, I wasn’t feeling very fine because I have heard that Port-harcourt was a more developed city than Calabar and English Language was more used for communication than Ibo; I was to live in a boarding school in Port-harcourt.

It was in Port-harcout that I developed the habit of Reading extensively. There, we read almost all the time, every little time we had, we use it to read what we have not read before. Reading extensively is a very good habit when developed, I read about the behaviours of people, about Aristotle, Socrates, Plato and many more. I have read a lot of books, if I were to list; these books won’t contain it all. At a point in my secondary school, when I thought that I have gotten much experience from reading, I started thinking about publishing my own book.

After my secondary school education, I was going home back to my parents whom I left about ten (10) years ago. I was very glad that I will be with them once again. When I got home I found out that old age has taken some parts of my Father and Mother, and that my little ones are also grown. At dinner on that very day of my arrival, I was narrating to my family my experience so far; all were happy to hear me out.  There on the dinning table, I made it clear to all of them that “Reading extensively is very-very good”. Even though I have gathered some experiences from reading, I still read books like I have not read before in my life because, once you are reading, you are also learning. As far as am concern, “My extensive reading habit is Sempiternal” at least I have learned not to give up just like the Wright brothers, learnt how to make impossible things look possible just like Aristotle and Alexander the Great.