Adelaide Zendeski
1:26:47
Thank you, members of the New York City Council all for the opportunity to speak today.
1:26:52
My name is Annalitza Lundski.
1:26:54
I'm a sophomore in high school at Saint in Brooklyn and a participant in the Brooklyn Public Library Story Team Program.
1:27:02
Through Story Team, I've had the opportunity to learn how important early childhood literacy is.
1:27:09
The foundations laid from birth to 3 years impact the child's learning for their entire life.
1:27:16
And through storyteens, I've had the opportunity to witness firsthand how the Brooklyn Public Library's children programs, foster literacy, and a love of learning.
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Being part of this program inspires me because I love to read.
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That's why I'm here today because I love reading.
1:27:33
I relish having the freedom to read books that take me far and wide through worlds of endless possibility, where I may wear the cloak of another culture, religion, race, challenges, and trials?
1:27:48
At the end of every book, I'm inevitably a different person, a better one.
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My heart is larger and my mind is sharper.
1:27:58
I'm better equipped to confront my own fears and challenges too.
1:28:02
And being a teenager is fraught with challenges.
1:28:05
The feeling of being different, unworthy, or just plain, uninvited is more prevalent now than ever, thanks to social media.
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For me, the usual teen challenges were compounded by my parents separating last year.
1:28:19
It was the hottest year of my life.
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Only now, upon reflection, do I realize that reading single handedly brought me through that year.
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I never felt alone because I always had another world between my palms.
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Angie Thomases, the hate you give, and Margaret Outwards, the Henley Nate's tale, are just two of the 90 books that kept me company throughout time.
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Each a dependable reminder of endless possibility and human connection.
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To my surprise, many of the books that saved me that year have been banned.
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As I read through lists of hundreds of banned books, I feel mixed emotions that range from shock and dismay to outrage.
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But ultimately, I'm left with fear.
1:29:06
Fear that one person or a small group has the power to deprive us all of all the knowledge and experience contained on the pages of any book.
1:29:18
The freedom to read is under attack in this country.
