Highschool Literary Narrative

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Jim Keenan English 101 It Puts The Lotion In The Basket As most kids gradually start to read more and more as they mature, I was one of the few who didn't learn to enjoy reading until senior year of highschool. The teachings of Tom Alessandri were the sole cause of my newfound appreciation for literature. All it takes is the inspiration of one individual to turn someone onto reading and writing. Tom Alessandri was the last highschool English teacher I had, taking his Science Fiction & Horror Literature class. While many people would be discouraged by the title of the class alone, I was intrigued and immediately signed up. I will forever remembered the line he introduced the class with, "Welcome to Science Fiction & Horror. If you are easily confused or disgusted, you should get the f**k out of this class. S**t gets real in this class, so buckle up." Completely stunned by the first words coming out of this new, intimidating teacher, I was excited for an English class for the first time. Growing up I absolutely dreaded reading and writing. Literature as a whole was the bane of my existence. However, this teacher changed it all for me. Mr. Alessandri had us read Silence of the Lambs, Dune, and numerous short stories. I had always just read all the standard books for high school, but this was a whole new twist to reading for me. For once I truly enjoyed what I was reading. Science Fiction & Horror was no easy class, but I found myself paying full attention at all times out of sheer enjoyment of what I was hearing from my teacher. Mr. Alessandri had been teaching the class for almost thirty years so he knew the material like the back of his hand. The unique thing he told our class was, "I like to think I know all the possible questions and answers to all the material of this class. But, that's bull. The reason I love teaching this class is that I always manage

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