Who I am - and why I fell in love with literature

Good evening!

I hope you (although I'm not sure how many people are reading this yet, as it is still a Spring chicken) had a great Thanksgiving and were able to spend it surrounded with family and friends. My mom and step dad were visiting this week so I was grateful to have some time with them. I thought I would use this post as an introduction to who I am, where I came from, and why I love literature. I hope you enjoy.

For starters, I am Betsy Mayo (formerly Rife). I am 23 years old and an English education major at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Originally from Indiana, I made Virginia my new home 2 1/2 years ago when I married my high school sweetheart who is in the United States Navy. My life has, in short, been a chaotic roller coaster between living in a new place, finishing my degree, and adapting to the military life. But I wouldn't trade my experiences for the world.

I have loved reading since I was a little girl. I loved how a good book made me feel after a rough day. I understood and related to the characters. I loved the smell of the pages. What I loved most was the sense of adventure that traveled through my bones- while the real world was not always perfect, I could escape into Matilda or the Cam Jansen mysteries and become a magic making, crime solving 10 year old (all before dinnertime).

Since then, my reading taste has naturally changed a bit. My college career has molded me into a reader. A real reader. An interpreter. An explorer. I can take a story and fall in love with its language, and appreciate the fact that it could have 25 different interpretations. Each time I read it, it will have a different meaning for me. Nothing else in my life has been so... constant- and yet constantly evolving.

Like I've said, I love words. I love the power behind them (yes, words WILL hurt me, thank you very much). Whoever made up that rhyme clearly has never read E.E. Cummings or Edgar Allan Poe or, heck, it would take eons to finish that sentence. Since attending Old Dominion, I have fallen in love with poetry and short stories. So much fit into so little. And because of this, each word counts. Every. Single. Word. Shutter. That's a lot of power.

Over the course of this blog, I hope to share with you (whoever you are and become) some of my favorite literature and authors as well as personal life experiences. If I encourage just one person to become a more avid and active reader, I will have done my job. I look forward to writing, and I hope you enjoy.

Time to light the Christmas tree! Goodnight.