Ma'Jeana's Narrative
Mattox, Ma'Jeana (2010-03-11)

>>INTERVIEWER: Would you like to go ahead and tell us your name?

>>MA'JEANA: Ma'Jeana Mattox.

>>INTERVIEWER: And Ma'Jeana, what do you do? What is your occupation?

>>MA'JEANA: I work at JPMorgan Chase as an accountant in the accounting department.

>>INTERVIEWER: And how long have you been there?

>>MA'JEANA: A year, February 17th of this year.

>>INTERVIEWER: And may I ask your age please?

>>MA'JEANA: 26.

>>INTERVIEWER: Just tell me a little about growing up, did your parents read to you a lot?

>>MA'JEANA: Yes. My mother, my father, and my grandmother played a very influential role in my life as far as reading and the importance of reading and I can remember always getting books, my mother always ordering books for me because she knew the importance of reading and I actually began reading at a very young age. And I can remember that one of my favorite books was "The People Could Fly." And it was a book about different African American folk tales. And it was funny because I actually got the same book twice but at different parts in my life. My mother brought me the book first and then my grandmother got it for me for Christmas. I loved the book so much that it didn't bother me.

I can also remember how important education was and still is and my mother used it, if I acted up when I was younger, I would have to read a book, do a report on it. I didn't like it back then but now I understand and I said I would do the same thing with my child and I would also always order books for them.

I just fell in love with reading. Even just mystery novels. African American novels. Just all types of novels. I really love history. My major is actually African American studies. I'm just very fascinated with history and just learning. I just love to learn. I'm always looking for something to do as far as reading and learning and places to go.

>>INTERVIEWER: Because you have to read so much in your school work, when you're by yourself on your own down time, quiet time, is there as specific type of work that you prefer to read now, if it's not class related?

>>MA'JEANA: Well, I love reading about slavery, and not just how it's made to look by Hollywood. But with the actual in depth slavery. How it really was. I just love it. Especially women and slavery and women and slave resistance. That's just my passion. But I also like to read for leisure different African American novels by different authors.

>>INTERVIEWER: Is there one book that you've read recently that really stems up in your mind?

>>MA'JEANA: One of the favorite books that I read, which I read twice, was The Coldest Winter Ever.

>>INTERVIEWER: And who's that by?

>>MA'JEANA: By Sister Souljah.

>>INTERVIEWER: Oh, okay.

>>MA'JEANA: And I just absolutely love it and hoping they make a film out of it. I just love that book and I would recommend that book to anyone. What I always do is I always treat myself, after every quarter of school, I get a good leisure book to read. And that's just something I do to just relax because I really don't have time to read for leisure during the course of the school year so I'll just treat myself during every back after finals to a leisure book.

>>INTERVIEWER: Now, what one aspect of that book that really drew you into it?

>>MA'JEANA: Actually the very first paragraph on the first page. It was very captivating. It grasped me. It made me want to keep turning the page and hurry up to get to the end. It was one of those books that left me longing and wanting more of it once I was finished. That's why I read it twice and I'll probably read it again.

>>INTERVIEWER: That's fantastic. You are married, correct?

>>MA'JEANA: Correct.

>>INTERVIEWER: And you had mentioned at one time in a previous conversation about your husband's passion for reading and for learning. Do you ever get a chance to do anything together in that area?

>>MA'JEANA: No, but I did come up with an idea that just struck me one day. How about getting a famous autobiography and we both read and then at the end just have a discussion on it? Because I noticed with him, we'll debate about different things going on around the world, and I really enjoy that so I said "why not read a book together and then talk about it?"

>>INTERVIEWER: That's great, so you have your own little personal book club. Well, I want to be cognizant of your time and I really appreciate your doing this interview and in the last minute or two is there anything you might like to add as far as how reading, I assume you enjoy writing as well, how that's impacted you. Maybe how, when you were in college, or still in college, how that's benefitted you. Is there anything you'd like to add to that?

>>MA'JEANA: Reading has definitely benefitted me. Even at the high school I went to, which was Fort Hayes, which was an academic performing arts college prep high school, so we were reading on college level. Actually, I think we read more than you actually would read when you got to college. Once I got to college it was just like, okay this is good because Fort Hayes prepared me. We had to do a 30 page thesis in my senior year. But once I got to the college level, it was like, okay I can handle the 10 page papers, you know, the 12 page papers that we had to do. So reading, even at that level and in high school it definitely prepared me for now.

>>INTERVIEWER: That's great and thank you very much.