Kristy Lee

Professor Thomas
UWRT 1101-103
September 10, 2014
Five Texts That Has Influenced My Life
Hannah Montana has affected a big part of my life as I grew into adulthood. As a child, I
would come home after a long day at school and relax to many episodes of Hannah Montana. At
the time, my family was facing hard times as my father struggled to support the family while my
mom enrolled in school full-time. Everyone was stressed and watching Hannah Montana was an
outlet from the real world where I could feel real happiness and allow my imagination to run
wild with thoughts of love and hope for the future. It made me laugh but most importantly, it
made me feel human. Without the TV show, Hannah Montana, my life would have turned out
differently and I would not be the person that I am today. Hannah Montana contributed to my
lively personality and her role gave me an ideal image of a bubbly and forgiving person who
cared for everyone around her.
Just like Ronald Mallett and Lynn Neary, my text was significant to me because
of my personal situation. Mallett was led with the hopes of creating a time machine so that one
day he could go back and see his father and warn him about the dangers to his health. That
became his purpose and it gave him life in his situation. Neary, on the other hand, faces a
different situation that was still personal and close to her. Her text changes the way she sees the
world because of what was going on in the world. Witnessing the Civil Rights movement on TV
always made her wonder about morality and the issues going on in the world. Reading, To Kill A
Mockingbird, simplifies the overly complex issues in life and gives her an answer for doing what
is right or for doing what is wrong. Just by engaging herself in this text, she was able to gain an
understanding of an important life lesson.

The TV show, Drake and Josh, was also a favorite show of mine similar to Hannah
Montana. Both of these shows were created to entertain their audiences with exaggerated scenes
and content, such as an overreaction or explicit and funny joke on another character. Just like
Dave Eggers, my text influenced a large part of my life. Eggers explains, I distinctly
remember walking around the school that day in a daze, as if Id come back from the moon.
Everything in my life seemed comparatively small and pedestrian. Similarly to his feelings,
watching Drake and Josh made me feel like I had just visited a utopian society where happiness
and peace of mind existed. There was no such thing as hardship and everyone got along with
each other. My escape from reality was truly a world of its own.

I remember when I was still a child, my mother would take me to the library and that was the
first time I received my very own library card. With this card, I could check out three books max
under a two-week timeframe. A favorite book I would check in and check out again was called,
Where the Wild Things Are. It even came with a recording device where it read out the book for
me and a complimentary movie so I can read about what was happening and visualize what was
really happening. My favorite part in the book was when Max discovers a whole new world. This
was amusing to me as a child because he faces his own fears and overcomes them by
becoming the king of the wild things. I saw this as an inspiration to overcome my fears and
challenges just like Max had. He had so much courage and bravery within him and I wanted to
be just like him.
Similarly to Thacher Hurds article, If things are torn apart, we can make out world right
again, he states in his final paragraph, What I learned from The Wind in the Willows is that
subtle message: We can fix it, solve it, make it better. If things are torn apart, we can make out
world right again. In Where the Wild Things Are, Maxs mother had sent him to his room
because of his mischievous behavior. He was very upset, which led him to go on his wild
journey. Upon his departure, he discovers a hot supper waiting for him. This shows me that
even though he had a rough journey with many challenges, he was able to overcome them and
make his world a little more peaceful and enjoyable at the end. He was able to fix his mood
instead of letting it ruin his day. Life had much more meaning this way.

Throughout my middle school years, I started to develop a pre-teen attitude which really
reflects why I loved the Lizzie Mcguire book series. It was a story about a pre-teen, just like me,
whose life could not have been any more complicated than mine could have been. All I could
think about were boys, nail polish, make-up, clothes, and lots of gossip. Lizzie Mcguire was my
ideal image of a perfect pre-teen who loved to travel and sing. She had two best friends and
always got into arguments with her younger siblings, just like me. I believe Lizzie Mcguire
carried me throughout my middle school years. She was a role model to me and I feel her
character really affected mine, especially her attitude towards her parents and friends.
Just like Maurice Sendaks article, Just let the kid do his own thing, Lizzie Mcguire
inspired me to be the best me that I can be. As Sendak states, They can just be kids and enjoy
reading and looking at a book, I was able to fall in love with Lizzie Mcguires books and
actually love to read. It was my life and I feel I could relate to Sendak as a reader.

As I continually begin to age, I begin to fall in love with books about romance and love.
My favorite book that influenced my life tremendously would be, The Battle of Jericho. In
highschool, all that mattered was trying to fit in and be popular. In The Battle of Jericho, Jericho
Prescott faces the same situation. The sacrifices he makes results in his tragic death which affects
everyone around him, including his pregnant girlfriend. This was the first book where I felt I had
emotional ties with because of my relationship with my boyfriend. The thought of losing
someone important dawned on me and I could not have imagined how his girlfriend felt that
moment, especially when she found out she was pregnant. Dave Eggers article, The startling
powers of a book, really hits on that point. Just like Eggers, The Battle of Jericho, affected me
greatly. Every day I wondered what was going to happen next and if she was going to be okay.
Eggers even states, The book was such a small thinga lightweight paperback bookbut the
power contained within was really startling to me. I had dreams about the book, thought about it
constantlyEven seeing the cover threw me back into that world again, and the story was too
strong to casually stumble upon. Only a book has that power. I really understand how he felt
towards The Book of the Dun Cow because The Battle of Jericho changed my life in a way that I
can never forget. The moral of that book taught me taught me a lesson beyond the hidden dramas
of high school and that was to be thankful in life.