A Childhood Filled with Books
I grew up in the 1980s in California, the eldest child in a large family. My parents home-schooled us in a very structured environment with little television but lots of books. Reading shaped my life is in no way an exaggeration. At some point, my grandfather, a self-made Scottish immigrant who arrived from Edinburgh in 1930, gifted my parents his old set of encyclopedias.
It was a Grolier’s Book of Knowledge set, published in 1960. The set was old, it was out of date, but it didn’t bother me. I devoured it. I spent hours each day going through page after page of these volumes. By the time I was in fifth grade, I probably knew more about World War II than most adults in the US today. I knew how awesome the space race was going to be in the 1960s and then got pretty bummed when I figured out we really didn’t have space colonies yet… but it sparked my imagination and developed a keen sense for writing and vocabulary… skills that have equipped me my whole professional life.
Building a Love of Reading
As I grew older, my reading increased. I added geographical study to my consumption. I poured over world atlases and national road maps planning where I would go in my life. But books remained the key. I loved the Chronicles of Narnia series. The Hobbit opened Tolkien’s world of high fantasy to me. The Lord of the Rings books soon followed. Once in my teens, I set my focus on the Tom Clancy novels, dreaming of a day where I could work as a clandestine case officer doing important work for my country, or perhaps in public office.
Looking back on my life, I trace much of my personal success to my parents deliberate, and often very difficult choice to restrict television from my consumption and replace it with books.
In today’s world of screens, apps, AI, and instant answers, I hope we can all aspire to that same principle: prioritize deep, sustained reading that builds imagination, vocabulary, and critical thinking.
As a candidate, I am committed to supporting classroom and home environments that value REAL books, and the development of independent thought… not just digital snippets delivered on Chromebooks and handouts.
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