Mr. Coon:

My first attempts to read were met with great frustration. My mother had always been an avid reader; as such, the smell of books and the feel of pages were sensations I always knew. So, when it came time for me to actually learn to read, I was surprised and vexed at how challenging reading proved to be. I remember sitting on our couch, gripping a book with one hand so tightly that my knuckles were white and wiping hot tears away. Luckily, I toiled through the process with the typical Nicholls determination. One day, it all clicked. Letters smooshed together formed words, and words lined up in a row evolved into sentences, and sentences into ideas. It was like finding God, to be quite honest. I was now guaranteed of a friend that was always challenging and dynamic. Reading and writing provided such an effective and easy way for me to express myself and to understand others that there was simply no way I'd ever consider slinking back into the darkness.

I devoured scary stories like The Dollhouse Murderers or The Hound of the Baskervilles and mysteries like The Bailey School Kids series. Then I discovered Mark Twain. I was a fan of the show Wishbone, which produced an episode on Tom Sawyer. Around sixth grade, I saw the book in our library and picked it up with mild interest, recalling Wishbone. I fell in love. It was the beginning of my love affair with Twain--and, upon further research, Sam Clemens himself. My library consists mostly of Twain and Vonnegut, though my interests extend beyond their often haunting humor.

I look for books that will help me understand the essence of humanity better and display the world around me with an acceptance of humanity's sheer absurdity and a hint that it’s not as absurd as it seems. Literature that challenges my current ideas and attempts to reveal the inner play of a human mind is the best kind there is.

Writing provides a way for me to express myself effectively. The pressure of speaking often jumbles words around in my head and my tongue is a poor messenger of what’s within. In the end, the effort mutates the idea I was trying to express into something like a clone without a soul. Writing, on the other hand, provides little pressure because the actual act of writing removes the middle man, the physical distractions and limitations. I've always admired the ability to convey a complex idea with few words, so short stories and poetry are the forms of writing I enjoy most. In writing, my language often becomes too conversational and contains an amount of adverbs and clichés that would make a romance writer blush.

Always,

Jessi :)