My Unpoetically Written Reading Journey

I'll be brief.

I am one of those Lit majors who, contrary to popular belief, do not read fast at all.

I am also one of those Lit majors who did not start out in an English-speaking family.

I am, incidentally, also one of those Lit majors who was not particularly exposed to reading since I was young.

From what I recall, Enid Blyton was my favourite companion in my younger days before I discovered my progressively girly adolescent guilty pleasures such as the likes of Mary-Kate and Ashley, Charmed and Sabrina the Teenage Witch series. At the age range of 9-11, I could not resist the way that Black Beauty tugged at my heartstrings so much that I read it twice, thrice, until I lost count. And then of course, puberty happened. My heart led me to places where I could find a nest in short, sappy chick flick romances. Perhaps, that is what love looks like! To my 13 year-old self, at least...

And then The Straits Times and Readers' Digest came along to disrupt my peaceful morning assemblies. 'Nuff said.

I struggled hard when it came to English Comprehension and writing during Secondary School days because I did not have as good a foundation in the language as my peers. Sadly, suffice it to say, I also did not develop a good passion for reading at that period of my life. This is the reason why I can't recall much about my reading at that time save for the wonderful Lit texts that my teachers introduced to me in school. I particularly loved The Outsiders and The Merchant of Venice, yes, Shakespeare even at the age of 14 intrigued me. I suppose that was when my eyes opened to the imaginative world. I began to appreciate good literature, I began to be fascinated by how powerful language is -- such that it opens up a realm that draws people in and connects with them almost instantly.

Though Upper Sec Lit lessons were mostly dry, I enjoyed Macbeth and The Joy Luck Club for the exposure that I got with regards to literary techniques helped me understand reading and writing better. Along with that came my love for analysis, despite my horrible (or non-existent) flair for coherent writing. I went on to JC and continued this development of passion for Literature. Ms K, Ms Soh and Mrs Tan in SAJC were fantastic teachers. That was, of course, coupled with the fact that they had the best taste ever -- Paper 4 was my A Levels' Lit paper. Like many others, I fell in love with Other Worlds. Those in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World and in Herland. Dystopic literature connected with me deeply and I began to truly truly realise how powerful the written world can be. I think it changes lives.

You see, I have always been blessed with wonderful Lit teachers.

Opting to study English in NTU was one of the most defining chapter of my life. My eyes were opened to the "world out there" and what Literature really meant. From a starry-eyed naive freshman, I grew in knowledge, exposure, and in skills. I found my love for Jeanette Winterson, Samuel Beckett, all sorts of American Literature (Herman Melville, Edgar Allen Poe, Sylvia Plath, F. Scott Fitzgerald etc.), Calvino, Virginia Woolf and the like. Not forgetting the theorists and philosophers too! Derrida, Saussaure, Beauvoir, Mulvey, Plato... I loved them all. If there was one thing that I found out I loved more than novels, is that of Critical Theory. The ability to engage critically with texts is like jackpot to me. I may not have a flair for beautiful writing, but I enjoy reading my texts with a critical lens immensely. It leads me further than the world painted in the texts. It connects with my heart, my soul and my brain. Sometimes, even my environment.

You see, Literature and reading have moulded me to become the person I am today. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to allow them to shape me. Delving in and weaving out of these texts together with the critical ability to engage in them has honed me as a person.

I look forward, of course, to the way teaching Literature will further grow me.