One Word

When I think about my literacy journey, one word comes to my mind: inspire. I know it sounds as a cliche and it may be expected but inspire really narrows down my life as a reader.
The beauty of inspiration is that it's not a one way thing. Inspiration can be received and passed along. Let me explain. For example: Someone was inspired to write a story. They wrote the story. A little girl read the story and was inspired her self. She became a teacher. As a teacher she was challenged with a very difficult and hard headed student who hated reading. The teacher now drew out of her inspiration from stories and passed some to me. Although she proved me wrong, I won. I got inspired and fell in love with reading. My first year teaching I was challenged by not one but 39 students who disliked reading. 6 of those 39, flat out told me, they hated reading and will always hate reading. I had to draw out the inspiration from my literature experience and inspire them. Like my 6th grade teacher, I succeed. Now they are inspiring others, and as for me, I am looking to inspire my new 40 hard headed book hating students this year.
Inspiration found in books you can loose yourself in; inspiration from stories that teach you to see beyond what is; inspiration that draws you to write. As a reader I find inspiration in the books I read. As a teacher my inspiration comes from seeing that one student who has always hated reading, beg me for some more reading time.