The Monologist

Although I am now pretty much a nervous 21 year old senior in college with no solid life destination in mind, when I was a somewhat confident eight (?) year old second grader, I was going places. I'm not saying I was always sure of everything I did, I was still pretty nervous with anything that wasn't familiar, (even fun things like field trips could set off my panic instinct), but when Ms. B let me read to the class for the last hour or so before the last bell rang, I was THE BOSS.

I would arrange everyone on the carpet while I took the teacher's stool, and generously let them choose which one of the two chapter books I had been reading from lately; usually a Boxcar Children mystery or an abridged kiddie version of a Jack London novel. Then I would settle down to let them bask in my reading prowess. I didn't do different voices for the characters, but what I lacked in voice acting, I made up for in enthusiasm and emphasis. It was my favorite thing. When I was an adult, I thought, I would definitely make this a regular thing. Maybe even a job!

I liked being able to hold people's attention with a story, even if it wasn't my own, and even better if they laughed. Mostly I wanted people to laugh, even though I wasn't daring enough to be the class clown. Anyway, Ms. B obviously thought I had what it took, or she wouldn't ask me to read aloud so often.

A few years later I found out the reason Ms. B either let me read or showed so many movies to my class was because she was severely depressed after the death of her mother and sister earlier that year.

But I still love reading aloud. David Sedaris is my specialty, so hit me up if you're depressed, I guess.