Maya doesn't really like to read on her free time. If anything she likes to read status' on social media. Maya can also enjoy reading, just depending on the book. She mostly likes to read thriller and mystery books. If Maya is completely honest, reading can be hard for her sometimes or for a fact as she was growing up, she never really liked to read nor find an interest in reading. It could be because she didn't really have anyone to tell her reading was very important or no one really forced her to. She was the type of kid that would always play outside and watch movies. That's why she regrets not reading as a child because to this day, she still struggles. When she was younger and now in present time, she would read a book and sometimes forget where she left off. Especially this summer when she had to read for this class, the books she picked out were not what she had in mind at all. One of the books she read, she did not find interest in. It was hard for her to focus in on the book and comprehend what was happening. As of right now, Maya is currently not reading a book due to her being busy with sports, out of school activities, and other homework in other classes she has, but if she does have to read then she will, no matter how long it takes her. This past summer she only read 1 book and it was called, How To Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas C. Foster. Maya sadly didn't have that much time to read all three of the books that were assigned due to her traveling and helping family members out with work. Also within the past year, she read some books, but only if the school assigned them as homework. Last year for her junior year, she read Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Lord of The Flies, by William Golding, and Night, by Elie Wiesel. Maya doesn't really have a favorite author but books that she has read in the past who she thought wrote excellent books is Sarah Dessen. She loves the way her stories flow and how good they are that they don't make you fall asleep, in Maya's opinion anyway.Maya lives in a house with a very minimal amount of books. In the corner of her living room, there is a book case the size of a file cabinet that has mostly picture frames that fill up the first three shelves out of five and another small desk in her kitchen that only has two shelves filled with a mix of random books such as cook, psychology, cultural based books and etc. She thinks the amount of books in her household can describe what kind of reader she is and which in that case, not a good one. She's the type of reader who barely reads, prefers to watch a movie based on the book instead of reading the actual book, and once in a while she would find a good book but then ends up getting bored with it half way through and doesn't finish it. But it could change for her if she really wanted too, especially when it comes to this class when she has to read a lot of books. Deep down Maya doesn't want to be the type of reader she says she is and wants to start taking reading seriously. Hearing all these smart people she came across in recently in her lifetime, one of them said something along the lines of " Reading is like a workout for brain, if you are consistent the more intelligent you will become." Which really made her think reading is important and to be successful with it as well. Over the past couple years Maya feels as if she sort of grew as a reader but not as much as she should. She also feels like this class can really help her become a better reader and writer, to challenge herself, and to prepare her for her future.
As for writing, Maya thinks she is a writer and the way she learned was all her English classes she had taken in high school that somewhat molded her into a better writer. She has concluded why a lot of people write and its because they either want to express how they feel or how they make others feel, to meet new people, to tell stories whether they are real or not, to make a career out of it, and can sometimes help relieve stress. To be an excellent writer she thinks a person with the right knowledge in this subject can teach people how to become a good writer and to also read to be successful in writing. The kinds of writing she likes to write is a free creative writing because she can put random things together and make it sound good. In order to write about something, you have to have an idea what you will say in writing. Maya's ideas are just random thoughts in her head and what she would write about is just whatever topic is given to her. When she is at home she does not write. The only time when she does is when its either a text or for homework. Over all Maya's writing needs to be worked on and to improve a lot.