Explain what you value in literature by focusing on why you like a particular literary work.

Thanks to my mother, I have held an appreciation for the written word from practically the beginning of my childhood. My early start and immediate love of reading may account for the fact that one of my most cherished books is still Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie. I have read many books in my life, but the Little House series, with this book in particular, remains one of my most frequented.

I am sure one of the more simplistic elements that initially drew me to it was that the main character, Laura, and I were both little girls at the time, as I think that most readers on a very basic level want to read about people they can relate to. As the series progresses, Laura grows older, so I always had a parallel to my own age. I continued to reread the books, and I came to realize the memoir aspects of it. I was amazed and delighted that this was an actual, albeit somewhat fictionalized, account of a real person, in a specific time and place.

Engaging historical novels like this are a strong part of why I decided to major in History. Once it became clear to me that the past contained an unimaginably vast quantity of stories, I could think of nothing I would like better than to spend as much time as possible learning them. It seems a little silly to credit a children's book for helping me discover one of my passions, but I think that is where it all started.