Reading Should Be a Profession

by Mani W, Class of 2020

“Every book that you have given us has helped us become the humans we are today. For this, I carry gratitude towards all of you in my heart every day.” - Mani

I can recall everything about the time I started reading books - it was the year my sponsor, Ed, came to visit our Community. My fondest memories of his first visit are when he and I read together “Tom and the Hungry Fox” every night. When he visited us again, I remember us reading “Winnie the Pooh”. These were the moments which became the foundation for my love of reading.

When I moved to grade 7, we helped two of our teachers, Ishika Ma’am and Sandy Ma’am, set up our first library at Jhamtse Gatsal. This was delightful for me! Thereafter, I started the habit of reading every night before I slept. As time went by, I started thinking about other ways in which I could spend more time with books. The answer was obvious – by becoming a librarian!

I started working in the library as much as I could. I would catalog new books, arrange them on shelves and mend damaged books. This gave me a chance to be the first one to read the newest books to arrive in the library!

Books have played a huge role in my life. I love living in their worlds and imagining what these worlds would look like. If I were to write the story of my life, most of the pages would be filled with the names and stories of the books that I have read. For this, I want to thank all the people who have gifted us books and donated books to help us build a library at our Community.  Every book that you have given us has helped us become the humans we are today. For this, I carry gratitude towards all of you in my heart every day.

 

Jennifer DeGlopper