Memorable Childhood Experience - Essay Example

The sound of laughter and slamming locker doors followed us down the hall as we all gathered in front of our teacher at the front of the school’s double doors. Since it was a beautiful and warm spring afternoon, we were all to walk down to the library.

It was a pleasant fifteen-minute walk. We joked the entire way and enjoyed the much-awaited warm breeze swooshing through the trees. Finally, the library came into view. It was a small, single-level brick building, situated at the corner half-covered by tall green trees. We stepped inside and were met by a smiling elderly lady. She escorted us to a corner in the children’s section and seated us at the small wooden and colorful benches designed for kids. Our teacher looked comical, hunched down on a purple stool, her knees bent at an odd angle because there wasn’t any room. The librarian proceeded to tell us about the general rules of etiquette of the library.

I tuned out and busied myself in observing the quaint and serene atmosphere. For some reason, the quietness of the library and the overwhelming feeling of being surrounded by so many books put me in awe. I didn’t know why but I loved everything about this ordinary little building. The softness of the carpet beneath my sneakers, the quiet rustling of the indoor plants, the soft and soothing overhead lights, and the smell of new and old books mingled together gave me a sense of calm and comfort. I was jolted by the sudden sound of everyone getting up and snapped out of my daydreaming. The librarian, along with our teacher, was ready to give us a brief tour of the library.

The librarian picked up a bunch of sheets from the desk and brought us back to where we were seated before. The time had at last come to fill out our individual applications. I felt strangely grownup as I carefully penciled in my name and phone number. We all handed in the applications and the librarian told us to look around because we could each take home two books of our own choosing at the end of the day.

Everyone busied themselves thumbing through books with bright colors and pictures. I was drawn to a shelf off to the side, a bit away from the children’s section. It was filled with old and dusty books. I thumbed my fingers along the worn edges when a very old one caught my eye. I slid it off the shelf and sat down at a table nearby to scan through it. The cover was old and it had a picture of four kids surrounded by a huge lion. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was holding a book (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe) that would introduce the world of reading to me at this young age. I had only meant to thumb through it, but instead, I found myself reading page after page, absorbed in the magical land of talking beasts and Narnia. A hand on my shoulder startled me. Everyone had gotten their library cards and checked out their books and was getting ready to head back home. I hurriedly gathered my things, went up to the desk, and obtained my very first book. I carefully pocketed my card and followed the rest of my class outside. I was quiet the entire way home, unable to think of anything else but the book which was tucked away snugly in my backpack. I don’t remember much about dinner or anything else when I reached home. All I remember is, that night I tucked in my bedcovers around me and immersed myself in the book. I didn’t lay it down until I had read the very last page. I put it down sleepily on my side table, laid my brand new library card next to it, and switched off the lamp. I hadn’t stopped reading since.