Passion

            I have always loved literature. Ever since I learned how to read, I have always sought meaning in books and poetry and loved them for their diction, characters, story, and beauty. It never occurred to me that there might be actually something that would make me stop loving literature. That is, until I took Honors English my sophomore year of high school. The class was supposed to move faster and take a more in depth look at literature than a regular English class, so I was enthusiast to start. Then I met our teacher; I’ll call her “Ms. Jones”.

            “Ms. Jones” was one of the least energetic, least opinionated people I have ever met. She never once became exited about any of the novels we read in her class and analysis of poetry seemed like it was a chore for her. The literature we were reading was full of interesting discussion material. But because “Ms. Jones” didn’t seem particularly interested in uncovering the inner workings of the verse and prose, her students certainly weren’t inclined to do so either. Going to class was like pulling teeth. There were even some days when I would have preferred a trip to the dentist than sitting through such a low energy class.

 I knew my interest and learning had been negatively impacted when I wasn’t even excited to start reading Watership Down. It is one of my favorite books and I’ve read it more times than I can remember. My own copy is so well loved that I’m surprised it is still in one piece. And yet, when we studied the novel in “Ms. Jones’s” class, she made it so dull and uninteresting that I began to wonder why I even enjoyed Watership Down in the first place. For that whole year, I dreaded having to read for that class. “Ms. Jones’s” lack of enthusiasm showed me the importance of being passionate about your subject, as your attitude will always influence your students. But luckily, through my own initiative and because of the enthusiasm of other teachers, I still love literature, maybe more now than I ever have.