Me and my history of reading & writing, A writer's autobiography

I grew up in Somerset, MA went to Somerset Middle & High School. Right after graduation i started working for my mother at her restaurant, the Water Street Cafe. I had many other jobs in this field eventually becoming a head chef.In between all that i became a father to my daughter Alayna. That's her in the pic on her first day at school, she is my greatest inspiration and makes every day a little better.Up until late June i still was a chef but life happened and i decided to go back to school and here i am. I have always enjoyed reading even when i was very young. The older i got the less i read, with T.V., video games, sports, and everything else keeping me busy. I would usually only read books i had to, most of the time school related. I would still enjoy it but thought it wasn't a proper use of my time. I remember i had a report due on Montana and i was supposed to read all about it, but of course i waited until the last minute and my report was not so great. I really didn't get back into reading until about eight years ago, my girlfriend at the time was a big reader and she pushed me to start. To say the least i was a little reluctant at first and would read very sparingly. What really got me reading were the Harry Potter books, i loved the stories and the characters were so vivid in my imagination that it really stuck with me! From there on i was a reading machine, i just couldn't get enough and it has stayed that way until this very day. I like to read mainly fiction, anything that peaks my interest i take a good look at.One of my favorite things to do is go to Savers and scour the bookshelves to find hidden gems. The bookcase in my room is very important to me and i enjoy filling it with books i've read or look forward to reading.In early years getting a book as i gift would have been a let down, now i ask for them as gifts! It's funny how things change. Now that i am a father i have encouraged my daughter to read since she was alive, i'm happy to say she loves to read almost as much as i do. Writing on the other hand has always been something i love to do, whether writing a song a poem or even a greeting card will have some original stuff from myself inside of it. I do mostly like to write songs which is like writing poetry. It allows me to express myself anyway i see fit, the world around me is full of material and the pen flows without question no matter what your writing. I find that if something is bothering me it helps to write about it to get it into the air, to get it out of my head, so i don't spend to much time in there. I also have encouraged my daughter to do this  as well and her stories or most entertaining, they fill me with so much excitement for her and her future in becoming an individual. That is also something great about both reading and writing they help to make me an individual and not just another cog in the machine. It wakes up my mind to so many different things that had i not begun to read again i would not know. I have to say that my reading has helped me write with much more detail and the ability to express myself fully and completely. Someone very smart said "knowledge is power" and i believe that to be completely true! Sir Francis Bacon was right on the money with that one.Well if you didn't already love to read or write i hope that maybe something in here my give you pause. Pick up a book or a magazine, write a song, story, or maybe a letter to a family member far away or  a friend. I know why write when we can text, email, im, and all that other crap, well i don't have the answer for that. I just know that it feels like you actually accomplish something when you read or write something and maybe that's the reason why!