Nancy Clark reflects on how reading changed her life.
In high school I was the lead in the school play. My character was a teacher who was trying to get her class to focus on something other than football. “Read” she implored the students. “You have got to read.” I did not realize it at the time but the teacher’s attitude towards reading would become my own.
Over time, I came to believe and still believe that the world and the people in it would be better off if they spent more time reading. I did not come from a family of readers. There were few books in our low-income household.
I have often been asked “why are you so different from the rest of your family?’ My answer is easy. “Because I read a lot.” And I did. I loved reading all kinds of stories but mainly those about loving families having adventures – unlike my own. As I grew, I came to believe that all of life’s problems could be solved by reading. And that by reading and writing, I could work on myself and live better than how I grew up. I was right. Given my respect and love for reading and writing, it is no accident that I chose a profession which emphasizes these two activities.
Becoming a lawyer completely changed my economic status. Not only was I able to afford a better life for myself but I was able to help my family out too. For many, reading is only a means to an end – one necessary activity in order to obtain a degree. This is too bad because reading is more than a means to an end.