Victoria READ Society

Up Front with READ's Executive Director- Julie Holder

Well, we managed to make it through another Vancouver Island "winter". It is sometimes all too easy to forget, as we're complaining about a few weeks of rain, how fortunate we are to live here in one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's important to take some time to reflect once in a while about our many blessings.

I have been truly blessed to have worked at the Victoria READ Society for almost four years. It has been an incredible experience. There is an amazing group of people who work here. They are very skilled and dedicated to the work they do. READ is a very stimulating, rewarding and fun place to be! I am so proud to have been a part of what goes on here.

That is why I will miss the Victoria READ Society in many, many ways. However, I have reached a point in my life where I must move on to a different adventure. Thank you to the board of directors, the staff and the volunteers who continue to put so much of themselves into making sure READ is successful. And thank you to our many students ~ like Zea, below ~ who have made coming to work such a joyful experience.

My Illiteracy

I am becoming literate and each day when I wake up I have to face my fear. It follows me around like a ghost. It can make me feel pain in the core of my heart or dread, nervousness, anxiety, or panic. Everyday I have to take the risk of reading and writing. Reading out loud makes me nervous. It can embarrass me and I dread it. Reading quietly, the words blend in together and I have to fight with them to read. It makes me feel sick to my stomach.

People say that it is not much of a problem, but these people don't understand. They don't see what I see or know. They haven't experienced the pain and hurt of living this way.

This has been a long fight. Today I can see that my reading and writing are getting better since I've gone back to school, but not to just any school, but to the READ Society. I have had to deal with a lot of growing pains since I decided to go back to school. All my hurt is slowly going away being able to read and write better.

Why am I doing this? Because of two people who have inspired me to go for my dreams and goals. I feel as if I haven't lived life yet, like I'm a butterfly just starting to come out of my cocoon.

Zea