Getting Lost in Text

I always had perfect attendance in elementary school and usually reserved one excused absence to observe Chinese New Year. The one day that I was absent from school in the 5th grade was the day Mr. Russo covered how to write book reports. In elementary school, I hated reading and I still struggle with reading for pleasure to this day. Mr. Russo gave me an extension on the book report and I recall staying up all night reading an abridge version of Anne and the Green Gables, attempting to summarize, and figuring out how to type all at the same time. I remember reading each chapter and writing a paragraph discussing what I had read and after reading only a few chapters, I realized I had written well over the one page limit. Getting frustrated and tired, I saved the document and never handed my book report in for Mr. Russo. I didn't know how to efficiently read and summarize text until I reached high school. Reading always took me a really long time and I avoided it as much as possible. After reading so much in high school, college, and grad school, I realized with practice, reading can get easier. I wish I could go back and tell my 5th grade self that.