Literacy Narrative
As
living breathing human beings we all have become individual shapes having been molded
by our specialized environments. Each and every one of us is very different
because our environments have all been unique. This so-called environment is
not only the physical world we live in but also what lives inside of our heads
and that of others. Knowledge is passed and influenced from one another to help
form ideals that created our unique being. This passing of information and
knowledge from both our experiences and teaching is what influences not only
who we are as people, but also who we are as writers. Any greater force, which
has shaped your writing style, can be called a literacy sponsor and this essay
will be examining my literacy sponsors along with the concept and idealization
of literacy sponsoring.
This
journey all began the first time I picked up a book. With dad at my side and
this crazy jumble of words in my hand I began piecing words together to
comprehend the fantastic rhymes and stories of the books that were oh so
fascinating. My deepest memory of what I read initially was a very special set
of books. These books were called Bob
Books and featured rhyming stories that allowed me to understand how words
sounded out and came together. Each one had a very specific, story relevant title.
Each word would rhyme with or heavily relate to the title. As I became a more
competent reader I progressed from one color to another, indicating which reading
ability I was at. Each new color was like climbing another mountain: difficult,
fun, and rewarding.
Once
I finished all of my Bob Books I
graduated to real books. For some estranged reason unannounced to me I heavily
lost interest in standard reading at this point. I did not enjoy reading these
massive jumbles of words to tell elaborate, almost never true stories. I wanted
something more tangible, something I could feel and see. I migrated to many
more factual books in which discussed historical events, fishing, or cars. I
took a keen liking to these things as they were fascinating subjects and I felt
as if I was gaining knowledge that was true, tangible, and useful. I never
wanted to read the books most of my friends were treading like the ever so
popular chronicles by J.K. Rowling, Harry
Potter. I was not what many viewed as normal. This left me with many
questions (Was I still leaning like other kids? Will this change who I become?)
in which the answer was slightly unclear. I became my own very special,
educated individual.
This
liking I took at childhood has carried with me through today. I still have a
great dislike for fiction and enjoy much of what many see as boring, like
autobiographies, historical documentation, true stories, and news articles. No,
these do not show a fun fantasy world or let our minds wander to crazy new
places but they let me set myself free to find new horizons. In these texts you
can find many instances of very important life lessons to let us reconcile with
the past or overcome the future. Where did this all come from? What sponsored
me to influence me in this fashion?
There can be no sole answer to this but I believe it was my outdoor and
hands on lifestyle, which benefitted much more from real world knowledge than
if I had peered in to the unreal world which much literature can take you. I was
exposed to these texts that helped me understand the world around me. That let
me form a greater understanding of how reading can benefit you and the real
world itself.
I continued reading in the same manner and was learning
fantastic. Some did not agree. After third grade I was told that my writing was
reflecting my reading style. I was infuriated by this thought that teachers
thought I needed o be more imaginative and let my mind wander more. I liked to
focus on a task and take care of it. Of course that was not good enough for
elementary school teachers. They wanted more fluff and imagination in my
writing. Nonetheless my parents were told I should take a creative writing
class before I entered the fourth grade and that I did. This class focused on
expanding my horizons to let new abstract ideas enter my mind and writing. I
was somewhat redefined in my writing ideals at this point, which seems
absolutely insane; I suppose a child’s mind can be molded like play dough with
a few calculated touches. I was not done though. In the fourth and fifth grade
I had the same teacher and she, Mrs. Endicott, helped me blossom from a small
sapling of creative writing to a full sized flower. She pushed the class and
focused on every student in such positive manners that made learning fun. She
never told us exactly how we had to do things, or forced strict writing rules
upon us but let us explore what our minds were capable of both in and out of
the classroom. We could let our writing reflect our lives and personalities. My
writing became very autobiographical, not in the sense of telling my life
story, but in the sense of self-expression and letting my opinions flow through
my writing.
I found something that I did not know anyone else
believed until I read a piece by Donald M. Murray that said the same fact of
how writing is personal and autobiographical. Murray sums up the idea perfectly
in his piece All Writing Is Autobiography
by saying, “We are autobiographical in the way we write; my autobiography
exists in the examples of writing I use in this piece and the text I weave
around them. I have my own peculiar way of looking at the world and my own way
of using language to communicate what I see.” (Murray p. 67) This approach
applies to every piece no matter the intention of said piece. You always write
with your own voice and let your opinions influence what you say whether
subconsciously or not.
I believe this idea of autobiographical writing is stronger
with me than most other people because I am a very heavily opinionated person
and always let that reflect in my texts. When I write I do not fear what other
people will think of my opinions. I generally sit down and let my feelings
spill on to the paper in a semi- organized fashion. I do not like to be
concerned about format or organization in any instances because it stops my
creativity I have fought so hard to gain. Often I must go back and reformat my
ideas once they have been written down to help others see them in a more
organized manner. This comes from the fact that my mind is either very focused
or impossibly unfocused. I have close to no middle ground, so I must get out
what I am thinking while I still can. I believe this is a very large influence
on my writing. Many things can come from my mind subconsciously and that is
sometimes apparent to readers. This is a very non-standard literacy sponsor but
a sponsor regardless.
Although my writing changed and became more creative, it
still stayed true to me and still represented very real situations, many of
which I have faced in my lifetime. I continue to read the same style of “boring”
texts I did when I was young and love it even more passionately. My literacy sponsors
have largely influenced my writing not in the fact that they changed what I say
but how I say it. I let creativity represent the truth to give new perspectives
on commonly boring topics. The influences on my writing have inspired me to go
beyond the normal and above the average because it always feels that I have
something to prove. That being that no matter how you choose to write you can
still create great pieces full of passion and knowledge.
Works Cited
Murray,
Donald “All Writing is Autobiography”
Writing About Writing. Downs, Doug
and Wardle, Elizabeth.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014
p.65-75
