Regaining a passion for reading

Rukmini Kalamangalam, who will be a sophomore at Carnegie Vanguard High School this fall, is passionate about reading and loves participating on the teen advisory board at Brazos Bookstore.

When I was in elementary school, I used to love to read. Reading was the ultimate pleasure – sitting curled up, buried in the corner of the sofa, losing myself in my limitless imagination. I read like I could never get enough, ready to start another book as soon as I finished the first. Thus, as I’m sure you would imagine, I read a lot of books. Reading was something that a lot of people around me loved as well, and I was sure that this was how life was supposed to progress – to different sections of the library.

However, as I graduated, and moved into middle, and then high school, I stopped having time for those clear afternoons with stacks of books lining my bookshelf, as extracurricular activities, schoolwork and other demands for my time became more and more important. There was always something else I should’ve been doing, and the pleasure I took in fantasy novels turned into speed-reading books for class the day before we were tested on material. The people around me who had once read under tables as the teacher lectured threw books aside as workloads increased and reading went out of favor.

However, great loves are not easily forgotten, and those sunny hours lingering at the back of my mind convinced me to do something about it. Brazos Bookstore became my way out. I applied for a position on their teen advisory board, and the next Thursday, there I was, discussing my passion for literature with a bunch of people who felt the same way. Now my passion for books is just as vibrant as before, but it has taken effort to keep it that way, and these days, that effort means time a lot of children don’t have. I strongly believe that reading so much as a child has put me in a better position to face the future, but also given me the confidence to deal with tough situations, because I know that someone, whether real or imaginary, has done it before. To me, that confidence is worth a thousand hours.

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