Santiagos Life on Literacy in a Nutshell

When I was little I hated to read. Reading to me seemed like the devil to me. It was such a huge burden to me that my parents would do everything in their power to at least get me to like a book.Same thing goes with writing papers or essays I was always terrible with them. I grew up in a really poor neighborhood where literacy wasn't always there. When I was young I would remember my mom going through bedtime books and stories with me  to make me go to sleep every night, those books were the best. “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” was my favorite one. I remember when I would play with the animals through the illustrations, before I could even speak words yet.

Like I said before I didn't like books but there was a series of books that made me feel open to explore more literature. When I was in the 4th grade books were already supposed to be more challenging and boring. The summer would hit and all the summer readings we were assigned had no spark to them.I would always dread the readings and leave it to the last minute. I genuinely thought there was no hope for me when it came to literature. Then I came across “The Diary of the Wimpy Kid” book and I was immediately hooked. His awkward appearance, his silliness, and funny character made me adore the book. I could say at that moment for the first time I enjoyed reading for fun and not just for a grade. The crazy thing is all of my friends were also hooked into this book too. We would all laugh out loud scrolling through these hilarious pages. We would all start to draw comics like they would in the book too.

At my house we never really discussed books, but what was common for my family at the dinner table was storytelling. Especially during family gatherings like Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. My dad would talk about stories he had in his job being a cop. My mom and grandmother would tell old memories they had growing up in their country, Ecuador. This taught me different types of narratives, to know who my audience is, what type of tone I should use before writing an essay.

School for me was such a huge help to where I am today but it was also a hurdle to get around. I remember my professors would help me push my imagination and my ability to express things better. Other teachers pushed me harshly when I would do an assignment wrong. I was writing like I was in Diary of the Wimpy Kid instead of giving a more formal paper for the assignment. I wish reading and writing  could be expressed in a more fun way instead of being so serious. I wanted it to be like "Diary of a Wimpy Kid".

Someone who I really admired when I was in middle school was my teacher, Mrs Zarfino. As I grew older she really helped me change the way I see things from the way I write to the way I express my writing. I used to get bad English grades when I was in fifth grade but she saw my struggles. She came up to me and offered me help, like staying after class helping me with the writing assignments, reading tests, the in class discussions I would normally not pay attention to. She was the one who helped me jump from where I was before. She truly cared for me.

Today I feel pretty confident in myself from the way I write to the way I express my emotions as a literate person. To this day, here and there I try to make little action comics like in the "Wimpy Kid Series". I have all of the books which I have to reread because I forget what happens from time to time. I love to read comics, listen to funny podcasts, and humorous books. Literacy to me isn't just about reading and writing it's so much more. It truly helps you reflect on who you are.I adore authors who put comedy and humor into their books. Those types of things help me better understand the world and myself. Where I fall with others. Literacy helped me out a lot whether it's me shooting a text to my friend, writing an email, or talking to my family. It really shows who I am.