Barbara Cain Literary Scholarship

Throughout my life, books have been an outlet for me to tune out the noise of the busy world and take me to a different place. To me, a good book has a powerful message that will help shape your life. One that always stood out to me was, “Step out of your comfort zone, but be true to yourself”. Growing up I had extreme social anxiety because I struggled with Autism Spectrum Disorder (called Asperger's Syndrome at the time). Since, I wasn’t socially involved in many activities when I was younger I became a loner as a kid. Instead, I would spend all my free time playing on my home computer or reading books. A lot of my books were passed down from my big sister and in that pile was, “What Was I Scared Of?” written by Dr. Seuss. In simple terms it's a spooky and silly story that is about facing your fears. While I didn’t think much of it when I was younger, as I grew up the lessons in this book positively impacted my life. When I entered high school, I was desperate to be more involved before it was too late. Music ended up grabbing my attention and before I knew it I tried out for my first ever live performance. Being on a stage in front of a large audience has always been one of my worst fears. I feared I would embarrass myself, let others down or simply pass away from stress on stage. I never thought I would be capable of being a part of a good performance. To my surprise, I grew to love performing! I was able to skip around the main stage, presenting myself as a very confident and social person. As I acted out as characters that were unlike my introverted self, I started to connect with these characters. I became more comfortable in my own skin, I became confident in my abilities and I no longer wanted to hide behind my mom. I would never be who I am today if I didn’t step out of my comfort zone. This assisted in my ultimate passion for books and the important role they can have on a young individual's life. I always was interested in assisting the next generation to find the goals they want to fulfill in their life. To help shape their values and beliefs so they can be true to themselves. If it wasn’t for books, my teachers, school or my experiences I wouldn’t have the same values and passions I am guided by today. Now I’m proudly an undergraduate student in my third year, studying a major in English Education and minoring in Library Media. I want to be a source to students, not only as a friend but as an educational advisor. Books have many benefits which include, helping reduce stress, improves your concentration/memory, strengthens your writing abilities, enhances your knowledge, and increases your imagination and creativity. I want to be able to share these benefits so I can spread a love for books and personal growth.

Growing up, books played a considerable part in my life. My parents both heavily pushed my education, especially literacy, from a young age. The main goal of their parenting was to raise well-educated and well-rounded children through many hours of story time, sports, and other forms of early learning. The ability to read and understand the world around me was a cornerstone of my developmental years. The books I consumed as a child and young adult have deeply altered how I perceive the world as well as how I fit within its framework. Some of the most influential books to me were from the mind of Daniel Handler, pen name "Lemony Snicket". Daniel wrote a thirteen-book series named "The Series of Unfortunate Events" This series follows a trio of orphaned siblings on the run from a man after their inheritance. As a child, this series was my favorite for its thrilling situations and advanced vocabulary. Going into middle school, I had a specialized interest in anything vernacular, so my young mind heavily appreciated the series' in-depth explanations of the events of the story. I would recommend this series to any student who appreciates the English language and daring adventures. No one around me showed any interest in these books and without many friends to relate to, I relied on books like those of Daniel Handler for support. I saw the characters as inspiring; they were constantly escaping their unfortunate perils through wit and determination. It had become an unconscious goal of mine to never stop learning. I have expanded my goals to involve my career plans. I plan to use my education to become a public librarian, whether the world of "The Series of Unfortunate Events" filled with its scholarly characters was a direct inspiration to my life. I do not know. The words of Daniel Handler have strongly influenced my goals. He has been an inspiration to me to spread information as far as I can reach. Currently, it is my goal to be more like the cunning children of the stories with a wide vocabulary and advanced literary knowledge. As I move forward with my life, I try to keep the lessons and morals of these books in mind as I navigate the world. Although I have not read these books in years, their contents have altered my life, and that is why they are some of the most influential books to me.