Personal Narrative My Journey to Literacy Essays - 829 Words

My achievement of becoming literate in both English and Spanish, after overcoming a myriad of obstacles distinguishes my literacy history. Writing was one of the things I didn’t like to do as a child. I always thought writing was a waste of time and that I wasn’t going to need it in life. Even though I didn’t invest much time writing, I was one of the best writers in all my classes, probably because I was very dedicated in the other subjects and I loved reading adventure books. I learned how to read and write by the age of four, since in my native country â€Å"the Dominican Republic†, kids are enrolled in school at the age of three; usually parents start their child’s education at home before that age. I consider myself a very dedicated†¦show more content†¦Again I was struggling not to let myself down and to learn the concepts of the new country. At first everything was hard; I had a lot of difficulties on all my classes due to the lack of reading and understanding the language. I remember when my 7th grade English teacher handed me the book â€Å"A Child Called It† by Dave Pelzer; I was stuck in the first page â€Å"I’d never realized so many words existed!†(Malcolm X 432).I kept solving my problems by myself, using the dictionary, searching words on the internet, and comparing some Spanish words with English ones. For some reason I didn’t like when people tried to translate and when the school tried to assign me Spanish tutors. I felt that getting help in Spanish wasn’t any good and it just disrupted my learning. Even though school was hard â€Å"I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky.† (Alexie 447).I accomp lished my goal of passing 7th grade. During the summer I used to go to the library and read books, because I didn’t understand most of them, and I found reading in English innocuous for the first month. After I got the handle of reading and writing once again, I felt confident of myself, and my life came back to normal. A few months later, everyone in school noticed the change from the boy who was constantly lost, to a boy who was outstanding in all of his classes and receiving merits from all hisShow MoreRelatedPersonal Narrative: My Journey to Literacy Essay1133 Words   |  5 Pageson my journey to literacy was my concern over my brother and sister’s ability to read and write including solving math problems. That did not really motivate not to become literate; I was extremely playful as a child. What I am able to remember is my first day of school, I cried like a baby when my mom dropped me off. I soon began to grow out of my baby stage and school became really interesting. Even though it was not as hard as it is now, the value that pushed me to be literate was how my teacherRead MoreThe Mono Tale Of The Hero s Journey1549 Words   |  7 Pageswithin a Story In our current society, literacy is defined as the ability to read and write. Though this is a common trait among individuals in our society, it is one that I view unique to every individual who had the opportunity to obtain it. I will retell my literacy journey in a way that encompasses one of my favorite theories in writing, the mono-tale of the Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell. This theory states that the Hero’s journey is a pattern in a narrative that forms the basic template of allRead MoreSlavery in Literature Essay1504 Words   |  7 PagesFrederick Douglass was born into the lifelong, evil, bondage of slavery. His autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, depicts his accomplishments. The narrative, however, is not only the story of his success. It is not simply a tale of his miraculous escape from slavery. Frederick Douglass narrative is, in fact, an account of his tremendous strides through literacy. He exemplifies a literate man who is able to use the psychological tools of thoughtRead MoreReflection About Reading1072 Words   |  5 Pages I was disinterested with reading from a young age. I loved having my parents read to me, but had little desire to take the initiative myself. To this day I can still remember the first book my dad ever read to me, Go Dog Go. Those cardboard-like pages of dogs and the soothing nursery rhyme verses hooked me. The combination of the drawings and hearing my dad’s voice stimulated my cognitive process and allowed me to make personal connections with the text. Despite only being a curious listener thisRead MoreUsing Five Metaphors For Identity Essay1443 Words   |  6 PagesElements of literacy, such as metaphors, are a practical tool to find different perspectives and personal identity. The authors of the research called â€Å"Literacy and Identity: Examining the Metaphors in History and Contemporary Research† review various ways of conceptualizing identity by using five metaphors for identity documented in the identity literature: identity as (1) difference, (2) sense of self/subjectivity, (3) mind or consciousness, (4) narrative, and (5) position. This research was reallyRead MoreThe Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass1491 Words   |  6 Pages In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass recollects being revolutionized from the years as a slave in the institution to the life of a free man in the world by attaining the extraordinary power and knowledge of literacy. In this pinnacle moment, Douglass declares and defines his presence and uses his extensive talent in communicative language to reach out and connect with his audience. During a time where it’s severely punishable to acquire these skills, Douglass’Read MoreFrederick Douglass And Malcolm X Essay1237 Words   |  5 Pageslearning to read and write. Literacy is what allows us to gain knowledge thro ugh learning. This topic is important because based on a study conducted by the U.S Department of Education and the National Institution of Literacy, 32 million adults in the U.S are still unable to read and write and African Americans are expected to make up nearly half of that amount. In both Fredrick Douglass’ â€Å"Learning to Read† and Malcolm X’s â€Å"A Homemade Education,† common themes regarding literacy and freedom are identifiedRead MoreSlave Narrative : Literacy And The Trope Of The Talking Book2101 Words   |  9 PagesSlave Narrative: Literacy and the Trope of the Talking Book The literary form of the slave narrative grew out of the first-person, written accounts of individuals who had been enslaved in Britain, the United States and other areas. These narratives documented life under the yoke of slavery, detailing the hardships and abuses these people endured, but they also showed a resilience of spirit and determination as these individuals strove to attain freedom. There are similarities to be found in theseRead MoreWhen Reflecting On What Made Me The Writer I Am Today,1672 Words   |  7 Pages When reflecting on what made me the writer I am today, my first thought was, â€Å"Well clearly, I’m a writer because I’m a reader.† As a child, I devoured all kinds of books and spent hours on exploits in different worlds, with Harry and the gang at Hogwarts, or with the Pevensie kids in Narnia. And I thought that inevitably and gradually, reading is what led me to create my own universes and stories through writing. In fact, one of my first memories associated with writing was winning third placeRead MoreThe Most Wonderful Books : Writers On Discovering The Pleasures Of Reading1153 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Superman and Me† by Sherman Alexie first appeared in â€Å"The Most Wonderful Books: Writers on Discovering the pleasures of Reading.† Sherman Alexie is a well-known Native American writer that publishes short stories, novels, and poetry. Out of the three narratives, I found myself connect with this story more than the others. Alexie tells us about his childhood as an Indian boy that grew up on the Reservation. His father was a big reader so as a kid he’s always had an interest in books and eventually it became