My relationship with books and with reading has been constant for my entire life. Both of my parents are English professors, and I have been fortunate enough to be around an environment that put reading and talking about books in a place of high esteem from a young age. There was really no escaping this environment, actually, and I just ended up really lucky that I happened to love every facet of it.
I continued loving my books, sometimes to the extreme, in all situations. For family vacations I would have the heaviest bags because of all the books I wanted to bring. I was notorious for asking for a 
book and then finishing it in a matter of hours, no matter how lengthy.
However, despite my devotion to reading and my willingness to take down any obstacle to be immersed in a book, when I registered for my first semester at UTK I had no intention of being an English major. I had decided to study French because it was a subject that had thrilled me as much as my English courses throughout High School, and I had an idealized notion that I would become an academic in French Literature and possibly move to France.
Within the first month of my Freshman year I had switched to a double major in French and English Lit. There was a physical pull that I felt whenever I was in my English classes and when looking at the catalogue of courses and I found myself pouring over all the offered English Literature ones. After I declared my double major, I lost my notion of how my life was going to end up. I felt so unsure and also so happy because in a way I had found my identity again.
I know I am happiest when I am working with any type of writing or writing based art, so I am really looking forward to this internship with the Sundress Academy for the Arts and a new chance to learn and grow with others in a field that brings me the utmost joy.
Hannah Kitterman is a native Tennessean currently living in Knoxville. She graduated from the University of Tennessee last May where she studied English Literature and French. During her time at UTK Hannah was a member of the Pride of the Southland Marching Band where she played the trombone and gained experience with heartbreaking losses and feverous fandom. Hannah is currently serving as a member of AmeriCorps with I Bike KNX, a nonprofit that advocates for safe bicycling habits. You can find her at various intersections in Knoxville counting the number of pedestrians and people riding bicycles or reading with a cup of coffee while on the lookout for dogs to pet. She has never met a burrito or a dog that she did not love.