Books of My Youth

The first book I ever read on my own was a book called Mr. Pine's Purple House. My mother bought it at a garage sale, and I read it to her when I was three. Several weeks later, my uncle, convinced that I had just memorized the words, made me read from various objects around the house. When I read him the label to a jar of Hellman's mayonaise, he was finally convinced that I could, in fact, read. This book continued to influence my life: at age six, we moved to a new house, where I finally had my own room; I persuaded my parents to have it painted a neon purple. Throughout my childhood, I would continue to look back at Mr Pine's, marvelling at the idea that, in a sea of white houses, Mr. Pine chose to differentiate himself, celebrating his individuality by painting his own house purple. Throughout my life, I have always held appreciation for those who can stand out, relish their own personalities, and celebrate their differences. I like to think that this value may have stemmed, even the slightest bit, from reading Mr. Pine's Purple House during my formative years.
There are so many books that have impacted my life that I could never choose one that rises above the rest, and I hate ranking things, anyway. Throughout my childhood, I found ways to be reading all the time- in the car, at the dinner table, even during commercial breaks while watching my favorite TV shows. There are so many children's books that influenced me. One I can identify as being particularly meaningful was the book Deenie by Judy Blume. I read this book at age 10, not understanding some of the more mature themes, but being very impacted by the idea of a young teenager having scoliosis and having to wear a back brace 24/7. I distinctly remember thinking, I hope that never happens to me. Four years later, it did. I was diagnosed with lumbar scoliosis and instructed to wear a plastic and metal back brace for 23.5 hours a day. At the doctor's office, I flashed back to Deenie, and later that week, I checked the book out of the library again. As I adjusted to this enormous change in my life, I took comfort in reading about Deenie's similar struggle and seeing that she managed to go on with her life. This book really helped me cope with the many new challenges of being a teenager with a back brace.