For class, we had an assignment to write about our favorite book as a child and our favorite book now. I honestly haven't been reading as much as I used to. Ever since college and married life, leisure reading has been put on the back burner. In middle school and high school, however, I loved to read and would do it whenever I could! My favorite author was (and still is) Tamora Pierce. The book that I wrote about was one of hers called Alanna. It's about a girl named Alanna who wanted to grow up to be a knight in a time that only men could be knights. She had a twin brother who wanted to become a sorcerer but was told by their father that he needed to study to be a knight. So these young siblings switched places and Alanna disguised herself as a boy. The book was about trying to keep her identity a secret and trials she went through in trying to obtain her shield. Part of the reason why I really loved this book was because I felt like I could really connect to her. Here I was, new to middle school and feeling secluded in a way. Although I wasn't necessarily "disguised", I felt like I had my own mask in the midst of a crowed middle school. Alanna had to figure out who she was and if she really did want to become a knight, even when things got tough. She taught me not to give up on myself and to keep trying to be who I wanted to be.