You've all heard me talk about my grandson, Ryan. How my son raised him alone from the age of 15 months until he was 8 years old, when Mike married Tina, a woman who couldn't have children. Three pieces of a jagged puzzle that snapped together like magnets. Now, Ryan is a senior in high school, sending off his college applications to MIT, Caltech, Georgia Tech, and University of Maryland.A week or so ago, Ryan sent one of his entrance essays to us to proof-read. I have to share 2 paragraphs, because over the years, we've sent books to all the grandkids as a message of how important reading and learning are. Surprisingly, they reached a point where they would email us a list of books they "really, really wanted," and since we are the stern, strict grandparents we are...wait...I think I hear snickering from the readership.
Okay, so we spoil them. It's our duty!
Here's some of Ryan's paragraphs in answer to the prompt to "Share a Significant Place in your life." Now, mind you, he's been on 5 cruises to various parts of the world and flown back and forth across the States, but this is where he chose.
"Going into high school, I was a huge mathematics enthusiast with just the smallest interest in science. It was not until my sophomore year, when I received a book in the mail from my wonderful grandparents, that my view of science and life would be forever changed. The book was The Universe and Dr. Einstein written by Lincoln Bartlett, setting off a chain reaction of events that did nothing less than change my life. After the first chapter, I was completely engrossed in the book and its concepts. Learning about basic principles of relativity that went against most common sense left me with countless questions. It created a deep hunger to learn more.
Delving deeper into the enticing subject, I read countless scientific literature. By late winter, I had heard a science show would be airing in the next few months hosted by Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson. The show was his rendition of Carl Sagan's “Cosmos Series.” After this show, I became utterly obsessed with the universe. I absorbed articles and books about space. I stayed up late into the night watching podcasts, lectures, and presentations. And to my friends’ and parents’ exasperation, it became practically the only thing I talked about."
As you can see, we didn't have much to correct except for his last paragraph that I won't share here.
As a writer, I often wish my books were the type to change a woman's way of thinking. I try to have all my heroines take life's adversities and turn them into advantages, to see their inner strength and their worth as a woman. I hope I succeed in this underlying message.
My third bear shifter book Bearing It All released last month.
BUY LINKS: http://amzn.com/B00TCI2A5E
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bearing-it-all-vonnie-davis/1121772576?ean=9780553394658
Visit my website at www.vonniedavis.com
