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RobertCaudle
LynnRaymond
UWRT1101
11July2014

MyLiteraryNarrative,andHowItMadeMeWhoIAm

GrowingupIreallydidnotdoawholelotofwriting.WhenIwaslittle,writingtomeseemed
boring,andsomethingIhadnointerestdoinginmyfreetime.Overthecourseofmychildhoodthough,
Ilearnedtolovewriting.IusedwritingasawaytoexpresshowIwasfeelingacertaindayorjustwhen
Iwasbored.Ilovedcomingupwithnewcharactersandimaginingthedifferentadventurestheywould
goon.Ontheothersideofthings,Ilovedtoread.Mymomhasbeenalibrarianherwholelifeso
readinginmyhouseholdwasmandatory.ManynightswerespentreadingwithmymombeforeIwent
tobed,andtheyaresomeofthebestmemoriesIhavefrommychildhood.Ienjoyedreadingbecause
itletmeescapetherealityforawhileandconnectwiththecharactersineachbookIwouldread.I
rememberduringthesummersofmyelementaryyearsmymomwouldtakeme,mybrotherandmy
sistertoourlocallibrarytoparticipateinthesummerreadingprogram.Iusedtobeecstatictopickout
variousbookstocontributetothegoalstheprogramhadcreated,somethingIwouldloseasIgrew
older.Irememberattheendoftheprogramtherewasaraffleforeveryonewhohadreadacertain
amountofhours.Theprizewasanewgamingsystem,andintheend,Ididn'twin.Crushedbythis,I
didntletitaffectme.Inthelongrun,itmademewanttoreadevenmore.

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Ihadagreatexperienceinmyelementaryyearslearningtoread.FormyelementaryyearsI
wenttoamontessorischoolinsteadofatraditionalschool.Ifeltlikethistypeofenvironmentreally
helpedmetolearnaboutthingsIwasinterestedinratherthanhavetolearnsomethingwiththewhole
classthatIhadnointerestin.IdidsomeresearchandIfoundmanyadvantagesoflearningina
montessorienvironment:First,youareabletolearnatyourownpace,whichwasgoodformebecause
Iliketotaketimetothinkaboutthesubjecti'mlearningabout.Second,you'reabletoreallyconnect
withyourpeers,byworkingonprojectsandcompletinghomeworktogether.Finally,youareableto
workindifferentenvironmentsratherthanhavetobeinoneplacethewholeday.Ispecifically
remembergoingoutsidetoworkonmywritingandhavingmanyopportunitiestolearnaboutnatureby
beingabletogooutsidetocompletework.Myelementaryschoolteachersweregreatandthetypeof
peoplewhoreallyshapedmyliterarynarrative.Forexample,mykindergartenteacher,Ms.Maggie,
hadmedovariousexercisestohelpmewritemyname.Atthetimethiswasatediousexerciseandone
thatprovidednoenjoyment.Lookingbackthough,withoutthevariousexercisesandlessonsshetaught
me,IwouldofneverhadthetypeofknowledgeIhavetoday.IdliketothinkIwaslikeLily,fromSue
MonkKiddswork,TheSecretLifeofBees,whoseteacherencouragedhertodoasbestasshe
couldinschoolwiththisquote:PleaseLily,youareinsultingyourfineintelligence.Doyouhaveany
ideahowsmartyouare?(16).Peoplenotonlycontributedtomyliterarynarrative,butinanimate
objectslikebooksandmagazines.
ThereweremanybooksIcanrememberasachildthathelpedmelearnnewvocabularyand
helpedexpandmyimagination.SomebookswouldincludeTheMagicTreehouseSeries.Thesebooks

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reallymadeyouthinkbecauseineachbookthemaincharacterswouldtraveltodifferenttimesinthe
pastandfuture,andyouasthereaderhadtoimaginetheenvironmentstheywereexploring.
IalsorememberreadingmagazineslikePopularMechanicsandNationalGeographicKids,
bothhelpingmelearnusefulinformationandandcraftnewideas.AsIgrewup,Istrayedawayfrom
readingasmuchasIusedto,somethingIreallyregret.
InsteadofreadingItransitionedtoamoredigitaltypeofentertainmentandcommunication.Thiswould
includecellphones,computers,andvariouselectronicdevices.Thesedeviceswouldaffectmyliterary
narrativebothnegativeandpositiveways.Forexample,myschoolworksufferedacoupleoftimes
becauseofthecopiousamountsoftimeIwasdedicatingtovideogames,butthroughthisIfoundthatI
reallylikevideogames.AnotherexampleIcanthinkofisusingaudiotapesandaudiobookstoread.In
thesummeroflastyearIhadtoreadvariousbooksformyseniorEnglishclass.OnesummerdayafterI
hadreceivedmyassignedbooksforthesummer,ItriedtothinkofwaysIcouldreadthebook,butnot
actuallyhavetospendhoursstaringatpaperpages.Aspatheticasthissounds,I'vefoundthatlistening
tosomeoneelsereadthebookwhileIlistenactuallyhelpsalot.Ieventuallyfoundanappcalled
Audiblethatwouldallowmetodownloadandlistentovariousbooksthathadbeenaudiotaped.This
appreallychangedthewayIreadbooks.IfinishedthewholebookinhalfthetimeandImadehigher
gradesonmytestsregardingthebookIhadlistenedto.AlthoughItransferredtoamuchmoredigital
lifestyle,itreallyhelpedmetofigureoutwhatIwanttodoinlife.InawayIrelatedmyliterarynarrative
tothatofShermanAlexie,whodiscoveredreadingatayoungage.Notonlythat,butreadinghelped
himunderstandwhathewantedtobewhenhewasolder,whichwasawriter.Ifeelliketheexperiences
thatIhadthroughoutmychildhoodreallyshapedwhatcareerIwanttotakeoninlife.Throughmy

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heavyuseoftechnology,IrealisedthatIreallylikecomputers.ThisiswhyIchosemycurrentmajor,
ComputerScience.
OverallIfoundthatmyliterarynarrativewasshapedbymanythingsotherthanjusttextbooks
andteachers.MyinterestsreallyshapedthetypeofreaderandwriterIamtoday,andhelpedmeto
realizedwhati'mtrulypassionateaboutinlife.

WorksCited

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Alexie,ShermanTheJoyofReadingandWriting:Superman&MeMcClaude,Donald,Ed
TheWritersPresence:APoolofReadingFifthEdition,BostonBedford/St.Martins,20087376
"ChoosingaSchool:TheMontessoriMethodVs.TheTraditionalClassroom."YahooContributor
Network.N.p.,19Sept.2010.Web.06July2014.

Kidd,SueMonk."Chapter1."TheSecretLifeOfBees.NewYork:Penguin,2002.67.Print.