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Allyson Bowers Dr. Rieman ENGL 1101 September 25, 2013 My Literacy Journey When I began the revision process on this memoir I first read all of your comments and suggestions, comparing them to what was actually written in my paper and taking notes on my initial responses to them. I then took a step back from my paper for a few days to allow new thoughts about my work to immerge while concentrating on the big picture revisions we discussed in class. I rearranged some of the information in my memoir and also added and deleted parts were I felt it was necessary. The main goals of my revisions were to make my paper more clear and understandable and also to develop upon some of the existing content. Writing and the ability to read it are so-called markers of civilization, as stated by John Green in his YouTube video Crash Course English Literature. The video proceeds to express how writing and reading are basic forms of communication. When an author writes something it is written to express an opinion to the reader, inform the reader, or persuade the reader. My intent as a writer is for the following narrative to display significant experiences that have shaped my literacy and how I define it.

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The words of Laura Wilder, Mary Pope Osborne, Johanna Spyri and countless others were read by mother, to my sister and I when we were young. I remember the excitement of choosing a different chapter book off of the shelves of my big sisters bookcase, and anticipating the adventures it would reveal to us. This is only one of the examples of how the females in my family were my first and most influential literacy sponsors of my early life. My mother and grandmother both followed a pattern of teaching early childhood education, taking years off to be stay-at-home mothers, and then returning back to teaching. Having this background my mother and grandmother saw it essential for my sister and I to learn to read and write as soon as possible. My mother and grandmother sponsored my literacy not just for my own improvement but so that I could reflect their intelligence and parental skills. They also taught me with the underlying motivation to prepare me well enough so that I may succeed independently in the world. My sister being my elder by two years and naturally studious always preceded me in acquiring literacy skills. Watching her first read incentivized me more than anything; to be as smart as her, to be able to read, and to achieve independence through knowledge. These goals are the first recollection I have of wanting to learn. My sister, in this early time period before I attended school, knew me only as her baby sister. I was weaker and not as intelligent as her and she saw this as an opportunity. She wanted to be a teacher and I became her most convenient pupil. We played school for what seemed like hours every day, I always being the student. She would read to me, explain the pictures in the books, help me create

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my first letters, and reiterate all the things she had learned in school to me. She kick-started my literacy and I expanded her imagination. Towards the end of elementary school through middle school the most significant part of my literacy development took place at night. I lived with my family; we were considered average in our small town. My mother, a 2nd grade teacher, attended the University at of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were she recieved a degree in early childhood education. My father, less attuned to academics, worked hard at the local phone company, improving his rank through the years. My sisters room and mine were side-by-side but in the evening her homework took hours every night leaving me lonely and bored. So during that period of time, after I had gotten ready for bed but before going to sleep, I would sit with the lamp beside me, proceed to pull out whichever cheap journal I was filling at the time, take a collective breath and write. I would write about my day, my friends, school, gymnastics practice or whatever thoughts found their way to my pen. Writing this way was like having the most personal in-depth conversation without the worry of judgments or comments from the outside. The misspelled words, run-on sentences, and the grammatical atrocities I committed while writing in my personal journals would appall any English teacher. Even so the practice of thinking and writing enhanced my communication skills and helped me organize my thought process. I expressed myself this way for a span of time that I remember having no distinct beginning or end. I remember feeling gratified, almost relived at

the opportunity to write my words, just for me.

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I later encountered writings online that were also written informally and expressed personal feelings, opinions, and experiences. Blogs, like my sisters, the baking biologist, incorporate well written information with individual passions. I found that reading these online works made me feel less alienated and more relatable. Our family received our first computer as a gift from my grandparents in 1998. I had no real use for a computer until my pre-teen years when my generation was introduced to AOL instant messenger. This was the first instance where I had the ability to instantly communicate with a variety of people in different places through a common device. I struggled with typing for quite a while and the skills I had acquired through school in writing by hand did not translate to helping me find and strike keys. Every message, conversation, and inside joke that resulted from my new on-line communications brought me into the future. Rapidly typing messages to multiple people allowed me to develop important literacy skills that have only continued to grow and contribute to my life.

Recently a new digital literacy sponsor has entered my life in the form of a smart-phone. I have read school assigned articles, Facebook updates, and investigated into the stock market on my iPhone 5. Having constant access to such a vast variety of information has supported my skills in reading, writing and comprehension. I read international news, along with national and local news daily. I compose and read emails, I contribute to social media, write texts, lists, and notes all on my phone. While scrolling through one of the various news apps I stumbled across an article about the literacy test the US government made World War 1 soldiers take. Here is a

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link to the test. It is a great resource to see how definitions of literacy change with time and context. The advantages I encounter by having this device are hardly one-sided in that I am aware of the multitude of companies and hundreds maybe thousands of individuals whose work allows me to possess this iPhone. From the journalist, poets, and scholars works I read to the software programmers, application inventors, and graphic designers: they all contribute and gain

profit as a result from their sponsorship. The most challenging literacy task I faced in school was what our county called the graduation project. This project consisted of a six page research paper, an original interview, an up-to-date resume, a photo journal (or other physical product), and a two page reflection essay. (This is a link to the current Davidson County graduation project handbook) At the beginning of my senior year this seemed a nearly impossible task to complete. Composing the research paper, the longest I had been assigned at the time, was overwhelming to say the least. I procrastinated, and in the two days that I started and finished my research paper I had looked up, emailed, and googled my way to an understanding of format and structure of which I was previously void of knowledge. My ability and my intellect were challenged and I arose to the occasion. Unfortunately some of my classmates did not rise to complete the stipulations set forth by this

countywide policy and were denied graduation.

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While I contemplated the ways that I view myself as literate I could never forget a sport that plays a daily role in my life. Bodybuilding, although technically a sport, is a lifestyle, a daily routine of learned self-discipline. It pushes you from within to strive forward, but over a year ago I knew almost nothing about it. My interest was sparked by my boyfriend, Ryan, who was already practicing a healthy bodybuilding lifestyle when we meet. We would look through magazines like FLEX together, talk about the different professionals athletes and trainers, and watch training videos. He took me to the gym and showed me what movements made certain muscles work and how to split training days so that every muscle gets worked, and also has time to rest, recover, and grow. I began to collect data about the subject so I could apply what I learned to myself. I began to increase my knowledge by reading articles on topics that range from the chemical process of protein synthesis, to the difference in slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers, to carb cycling. Online I was introduced to a web site called Bodybuilding.com. (I have hyperlinked it here and suggest it as a resource to anyone who may be interested.) It contains training, nutrition, and supplementation information as well as a supplement store and social media website entitled Bodyspace. Freshly armed with the knowledge I had acquired, I began to practice what I had learned. I constructed well planned scientifically based training sessions, coupled with adequate nutrition specifically designed to help me reach my goals. This is a literacy skill that I took upon myself to learn, and by acquiring it I have become healthier and more driven. From this experience I have found that when it is I who instigate and incentivize myself to develop new literacy skills they become more learned, practiced, and developed

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compared to when an outside force incites the skill.

Literacy has meant many different things and has been held to many different standards throughout history. Different cultures and context require unique literacy skills. I previously thought of literacy in more limited terms than it truly encompasses. I now define literacy as the ability to understand, contemplate, and communicate, in or about, a variety of specific contexts. I also regard literacy as a self-motivated process; I feel that one can be taught, but to truly be literate there must be an awareness of the individual to strive for complete comprehension, a yearning to learn. My literacy journey has humble roots, like most, but has allowed me to explore, discover, and comprehend things that I once thought were beyond my reach. According to the National Council of teachers of English, literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy.

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Works Citied Green, John. How and Why We Read: Crash Course English Literature #1 Online video. YouTube, 15 November 2012. Web. 2 October 2013.

National Council of Teachers of English. 21st Century Literacies. 15 February 2008. Web. 2 October 2013.