Observations Of My Literacy Life

Identifying as a Reader

As a reader I flourished… It was the flow of words that clashed a world between others; how my senses would come alive from a far away place as I stayed frozen in one position to read for hours; how an abundance of vivid emotions would transfer from a character to me, the reader. Reading became more than just a mere hobby, it was a compulsive routine where I was sane in a state of instability. Lost in transition was my case before such. Prior to this, my life had changed language, setting, and format in a way that not even the style stayed the same. I still taste the feeling of one of my firsts, “Girl, Stolen” by April Henry. There was something of that trouble story that drew me in, the forbidden love and the complexity of the story (at least for my 11 year old mind). The dramatic sense that surrounded it only intensified my curiosity for these characters. As a result, somehow, I connected with the characters, or at least I wanted to in some way. One of the reasons why I adore reading is that once you start a new story, you take on this new ‘life’. George R. R. Martin once expressed that…

“a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.”

This quote has stuck to me like glue because I am an example of this sumptuous quote. I wouldn’t call my life boring or dull, however, I won’t negate the tiring routine i’ve had for years yet due to hobbies, one of them mainly being reading, my life is exciting as it is. Books have helped me grow into the person I now am, and I wouldn’t trade that for nothing. These pieces of words assembling stories as they flow, have helped me learn life lessons one doesn’t simply learn, they have taught me a world full of possibilities, a world full of color and life.

Situations While Writing

January 16 of 2015, I wrote an essay about the book “Of Mice and Men”, by John Steinbeck. This was my introduction…

Can a bond of friends survive hard times? True friends can be hard to find. True friends can go through a lot. But at the end, their bond happens to grow. In the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie, two men that have known each other for a long time, go through difficult times. John Steinbeck shows how George is a good friend to Lennie because Lennie can count on George and George tries to keep bad people away from Lennie.

In this introduction I questioned quite a lot about friendship, and about the hardships of friendships. Although, it’s  borderline acceptable for a Highschool Freshmen, I wouldn’t write such thing in the present. Why? Nowadays I love to expand on my thoughts while writing which usually brings my teachers/professors to admit that I ramble a lot, or as my AP Literature & Composition teacher commented in one of my essays, “you are getting to the heart of the poem but again, the sentence is not clear. Slow your thoughts down, and present them one at a time!”. I often write too much regarding a topic, although it can be quite a mess at times, it can be useful and helpful. In this excerpt of my old essay, bluntly developed the idea of friendship; putting it out there, emphasizing on it as if it were a banner. What I dislike is the lack of information, or brief opinion, or something that can show the readers and appeal to readers in the sense of relating or understanding the book. My writing throughout high school lengthened and became more informative, and more organized.

Language & Identity

In ​“If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What Is?” James Baldwin​ wrote that language is

“a political instrument, means, and proof of power. It is the most vivid and crucial key to identity: It reveals the private identity, and connects on with, or divorces one from, the larger, public or communal identity” (781).

Throughout this semester there has been numerous readings, along with writings. For instance, “Ms. Marvel” by G. Willow Wilson, “Where I’m from” by George Ella Lyon, “Soon I Will Be Impossible” by Austin Grossman, are the readings that greatly impacted me. “Where I’m From” was the one reading that specifically learned cherish while reading it and writing my own version of it because there just a beauty into putting your memories, and being into words. In the poem, the words are flowing with the wind, whispering the memories as you proceed to read. I would say, this reading taught to me anchor my emotions, along with memories into one gorgeous piece of work im proud of. This piece along with the other pieces discussed in my FIQWS class have taught me how to put vivid moments into words, they married me into a world of many possibilities in reading and writing. One can’t say that after all of those nights reading the comics, books, articles, and poem; and analyzing them, one can’t say they haven’t taken anything from that. I say this because I know i did. As I said before, as I reader I flourished, and as a writer i should too. This is what i’ll take from this course, how writing just a reading creates wonders no matter where you come from or how you came along. In the world of writing and reading, we are all authors and readers looking to learn something or express something.

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license.