Damonique Levy ENGL 1201 Dr.

Blair 23 February 2014 Literary Beginnings Growing up, I learned to read and write from many different people and sources. From my first words to my present knowledge of the English language, I have developed language to better communicate to the world and express thoughts through tactful and wise construction of words. I could not have achieved literacy in the absence of vivid memory and experiences for 19 years and building. As a young child, I remember spending many nights at my mothers feet in the kitchen peering at the single letters with an army of thousands fleeting up to the freezer. I love playing with the magnets containing every color in the rainbow and the many possibilities of arrangement excited me. I did not know how to put the letters together to form actual words, so I just played with them and acted like I was making words. I soon advanced to alphabetically mimicking labels around the kitchen and asking my mom and dad what they say after I would pin them together. I was fascinated with the colors and many possibilities. I would say these words at random times around the house or while I was playing with my dolls. Some words I simply picked up on and even language that was colorfully inappropriate but I was fascinated by those as well, playing Barbies with my sister we would use the words we learned. You better

get ken to pay the mortgage or You have responsibilities in this household this was a bright start for a six year old. Growing up, a good majority of my literacy came from my mother in one way or another. My mother was a very smart lady and I admired her vocabulary and thorough tone. While growing up she taught many things without physically teaching me at all. When my mother would yell she would whip out a new smart word and be very stern in saying what she had to say. Why would you do such an asinine thing? I did not like being yelled at but I liked the way she did it when it was all said and done. She would also explain things to me very clearly like when I wouldnt understand something she broke it down beautifully. One time I went to work with my mother and like the average kid I had a million questions about how things worked, instead of getting aggravated she explained her job description, what a check was, hourly wage, rude customers, tips, whose making the food, down to why that ladys hair over there looks like that. I felt like my mother was so smart and I admired her language construction. During the early years of my childhood, being around my mother had a part in shaping my articulation of the English language. Starting at the age six, I began to watch a show called Sesame Street. Sesame Street was my favorite show and I would watch it religiously. If it were up to me at the time, I would have watched Sesame Street all day and went to school for the amount of time the program aired which was about an hour. I loved to watch Elmo, Big bird, Oscar and the other characters. I use to love the alphabet song where each character will sing a letter or two all the way to Z then repeat it. This show got me excited about learning in a way actual school couldnt. I learned how to perform tasks like washing hands, learn my ABCs and construct words like CAT or FEET. The adventures and fun times made me forget I was learning.

When I grew to be a little older and went on to grade school, the whole school participated in the AR reading program. I cant remember exactly what AR stood for but basically it was a reading program designed to make sure we were making progress. I did not like reading much at the time; I was more in it for the competition. It was a great feeling to walk around and say you can read the dark blue and green dotted books. The dots signified the difficulty of the book; light green being the easiest and purple, dark orange and dark blue being on the more difficult side. Every week we would read these books in groups and present our skill. This experience helped me learn how to read and excel in doing so without even noticing. As the years went on I lost interest in learning to read and it just became a thing that was necessary to do. I did however spark a new found love for reading in middle school, I think the 6th grade. I was in the library one day and I was searching for books to check out for a project and I came across a book titled Riding freedom. I was extremely captivated by this book because of the mystery and adventure in the book and I could not put it down. Riding freedom was about a young indentured servant who loved horses and dreamed of running away from her 7 year sentence. Growing up I was placed into the foster care system and everything was not dipped in gold or even copper for that matter. Reading Riding Freedom I felt as if I was that indentured servant. It reminded me of my life and I too got away in the book as she escaped from the plantation she was bound to. It was a beautiful book and it made me cry. This book left a lasting memory with me and it made me want to read other books that captivated me emotionally and mentally. At the ages of 12 and 13, I often times went to Barnes and Noble and bought teen books. I wouldnt put the books down because I was interested in the story and was forever curious about what would come next. There were many long nights and exhausted morning in the name of my books.

The writing business in middle school was a challenging time on my literary journey. English class began to feel like a drag and things were getting harder especially when it came to creating my own literature. I was a terrible writer and I didnt feel like I was where I needed to be when it came down to it. I would get criticism from my teacher and get offended in a way because I was truly trying. I remember one particular teacher in 8th grade named Mrs. Godwin. Mrs. Godwin critiqued my papers harshly but truly believed in my progress and pushed me. While she was stern she was pleasant and helpful. Draft after draft she would give me my papers with red marks on them explaining where I was making mistakes. As frustrating as this woman made me she really helped me to understand things pertaining to structure, punctuation and development of ideas in my paper. When I graduated from middle school she did the paperwork to allow me to enter into Honors English during my freshman year in high school where I also excelled. Ninth grade Honors English was a time when my vocabulary and knowledge of grammar hit a surplus. I dreaded the atmosphere in the classroom but I learned a lot. During the course we practiced weekly vocabulary enhancement. We would get a list of words to look up, study and be quizzed on at the end of the week. We also read novels like "Maus" and were given analytic and inference questions on them. This challenged my thinking and the weekly quizzes built up my vocabulary. I learned how to analyze more challenging texts and use more powerful vocabulary in my everyday life. This set me on to a higher level of literary skills. Later in my high school career writing papers became second nature but I also began to search literacy that interested me most. I would explore vocabulary possibilities and enhance whatever word that I chose to do surgery on. A d v a n c e d or a stronger word such as p r o g r

e s s i v e depending on its use in context .Topics that interested me were subjects of my papers. I got plenty of practice in the latter years of high school From school, family, worldly ideas and self-interest I have been exposed to ideas and principles that forwarded my ability to read and write year by year ever since I could pick up a book. The world and everyone that I come in to contact with shape the way I see, feel, develop and accept literacy. Literary moment can happen at any given moment is what I learned growing into adulthood.