Blog Entry 1: Reader’s Autobiography

Some of this is going to be a repeat of my last post so I apologize. My name is Carmen Wise, I go by Carmen...original right. I am 25 years old attending Easter Oregon University, working towards a Business major. I spent 4 years in the US Coast Guard as a storekeeper and enjoyed my job so I decide business is the way to go on a degree. I have two very young children, my daughter Payten is 14 months old and my son Teagan is 3 months old. Being a mother is a full time job but doesn't seem to pay the bills very well so I decided getting a degree would be the best thing for me so that I can get a good paying job to support my children. Being a mom and a student are my main focuses. It is amazing how after you have a child all the other things in life like hanging out with friends all the time, going to bars or even just being spontaneous doesn't seem so much fun or important anymore.

My history with reading is pretty entertaining for other I think. I grew up in a home that was very religious, by this I mean that we did not have a TV. I bought my first TV when I was 16 years old after getting my first job. My parents spent all their time entertaining me outdoors if possible and reading to me when the weather wouldn't permit. I remember we had an over sized blur recliner that mine and my mothers rear ends would fit snugly in side but side as she read stories to me. They weren't short storied either, they were novels such as All things big and small by James Herriot. After I got a little older my mom would make me read to her instead. I read almost every fictional novel in the library at my school. I would read a book a night and about 3 every weekend. I had a collection of Archie comics too. Reading is what I did right before going to bed. I enjoy reading and using my imagination. I am able to read books really fast because of the amount of reading that I have done. These days I don't have much time to read but if I did it would be what I call "smut" books. Only because they don't take very much thinking power to follow and are relaxing. Plus, a girl can dream for her prince charming while reading them. LOL.

My mother likes reading gardening books and books on how to grow plant to the best potential. She is also into historical books and classics. My mom is a very intellectual person and enjoys what I call the "boring" reading. Although she reads romance novels and some mystery ones too but she claims that is because that is what is in the house from me and my fathers reading. My mother use to be a nurse so there are lots of medical journals and medical books in the house too. My mother does a lot of reading out of these too because she would rather take care of herself at home than pay a doctor. I actually find my mother a very good reader and look up to her for this. She doesn't just stick to reading things that she is familiar with she will explore other areas she is unfamiliar with too. She has been reading lots of children's books lately due to the fact that she is grandmother and also my babysitter. My mother says that she reads what she reads for different reasons, some are learning and some are purely for entertainment.

My father reads romance, western and some adventure novels. Such authors as Jude Deveraux. My father has always pushed me to read and due well in school because of the fact that he didn't do much with schooling. My father graduated high school and then went straight into the army. He also go out after 4 years and started working with his father at Boise Cascade. At the time that he was in school reading was only necessary for school, he didn't really get into reading until he was out of the military. He loves reading now and now that he is retired he is usually reading or napping. My dad is shy so writing is something that is very hard for him along with spelling. However, amazingly enough reading is something he is very comfortable with. He reads children's books to my daughter daily and she loves it. She is already trying to read them and will spend 20 minutes looking and talking to books since she was 9 months old. When I asked my father why he reads his romance novels he didn't have a reason but I think it is because he is secretly a softy on the inside.

My boyfriend is on the opposite end of the reading spectrum. He absolutely hates reading. He grew up in a family where TV was the center of everything. I grew up eating dinner at the dinner table and talking with my parents. However he grew up eating dinner on the couch in front of the TV. To be honest I can totally tell the difference in us just because of that difference in the way we were raised. His parents never pushed him to read at all. I have been together with him on and off since I was 14 years old and I have never seen either one of his parents reading a book. The closest I have seen them do to reading is the newspaper every evening. The only things I have seen my boyfriend read is truck part magazines and people magazines in the doctors office waiting rooms. However, he had to do a few days in jail a few months back and told me that he actually read a book in there. It was 70 pages long and it took him 4 days to read it. We had a laugh over this because I would have read it in like 2 hours and it took him so much longer. The weird things is he said it was a great book but would never read without it being a necessity. He didn't graduate high school either and is dragging his feet on getting his GED because he knows there will be reading. I don't think it is an issue that he can't read or has difficulty reading it is just not entertaining to him so why should he do it. Plus he is ADHD so sitting still for a period of time to read is pretty much impossible for him.

As you can tell I have opinions on all of these people and their reading. I wish my boyfriend would read more because I want my kids to see reading as I did growing up and enjoy their imaginations and enjoy reading, it will only help them in their education and future. I look up to my parents for helping learn to enjoy reading as I do. If they had not made reading fun for me as a child I am sure I would be just like my boyfriend is today, only reading if I had to.

Introduction of self

Hello all-
As you know my name is Carmen. I am a mother of 2 wonderfully stressful young babies. I am 25 years old, my daughter Payten is 14 months old and my son Teagan is 3 months old. Having 2 babies less than a year apart is as close to having twins as you can get! The only problem is they are in two different stages of development and jealousy plays a huge role. I live with my boyfriend and our children...marriage was in the near future until we had our son and it seems to have been put on the back burner. LOL. Not like we don't have enough stress already add a wedding to that! Ahhhh! I am currently in my 3rd term at EOU and really like it so far. I think there are a lot of difficulties that I have had dealing with questions and understanding everything but it has all came out with great grades so far. My boyfriend and I are currently looking for our first home and it is a lot easier said than done. There doesn't seem to be anything that we like in our price range...very frustrating. I have been doing a lot lately and I am doing everything I can to make sure that no one or nothing gets left out or behind. Being a mother is the most rewarding thing I have ever done but it is also the most stressful. I wish that I knew every other mothers secret. I walk through Walmart and see these well behaved quiet children and wonder what their mothers did to get them to act so well. My boyfriend and I are both very outspoken people (I know weird couple) so our children are very energetic and loud. I have learned though that getting stressed out because your child is making a scene in a store does nothing but make it worse for you. I just laugh and smile because at some point almost every person watching has been there and felt what you are feeling. No matter whats going on or how stressed out I am all it takes a smile or giggle from my children and everything is wonderful again.