Having dyslexia was another isolating thing in my life. It was very, very tough being the only kid in class who couldn’t read as well as everyone else, especially if we had to read out loud. It was very, very difficult. When it was my turn, the other kids would be like [sighs loudly], you know, because I’d be struggling to get through my books. But my mom was very, very helpful to me because she would take me to the library every week and she just wanted to make sure that I was always, always reading.
And so she let me pick out whatever books I wanted, and there was no judgment whatsoever. She just wanted to make sure that I was always reading. And I would pick out fun books and joke books and books that I’d read a thousand times, and she didn’t care. As long as I was reading, that was fine, and that’s what changed my life. It really turned me into a reader.
I think reading is like a lot of other things in life; the more you do it, the better you get. And for me, having the focus beyond fun was so important to me. Everything I read — I would read things for homework and I would read things because we had to, but I loved to read for fun and because it was such an important part of my home life. My parents were always encouraging me to read for fun. That was what really made the difference for me.
