HOW LITERATURE INFLUENCED YOU PERSONALLY AND ACADEMICALLY (VALUE OF LITERATURE) BY: NUR AZLINDA AZMAN

I was not raised in a family that understands and dissolved themselves totally into literature. In fact I hate Shakespeare and writers who are in the same boat as his. One of the things that I always think about the word literature is that it defines everything, our lives, values, morality and paths that intertwined as a symbol to be broken. Thus, to weight Shakespeare, Charles Dickens or even the novel Wuthering Heights as the bench mark of pure literature seems inaccurate in my predicament. How can we measure an art work as a literature? Presence of literary devices can be traced almost in every book, film and even in our daily life. Story likes A Midsummer Nights Dream, for an example, deals with romance, lust and faith which I considered that almost normal and apprehensively slightly interesting. The used of old English is one of the reasons that restricted me from going far to the next page. I will guess that born in the group of generation Y did affect my beliefs and thinking over some matters and explicitly be more radical on certain aspects. Moreover, you can easily get a copy of modern version of literature that directs their stories meticulously and deals with heavy issues much more than Charles Dickens. Plus, I can assure myself I will not be half-asleep due to some language barrier when reading any modern materials: taken account by the facts that Shakespeare used Mars language to create so-called ultra-divine love stories, I just cannot tolerate it. Symbiotically, the types of literature that i enjoyed the most are songs, movies as well as modern books. People say that rapping songs are nothing but a lousy and meaningless production of music but i believe it is a flipping coin of performing literature with a harsh and direct message. After all, the contents are the most pertinent part. By listening to all types of songs, it actually helped me to be more accepting. Music is universal and there can be no more solid reason to relate it with literature. Most of the composed songs are well-written based on the composers experiences or maybe make-believe. Nevertheless, those three minutes or 4 are the best moment in my life. It can transform me into a different moods and expression, which is kind of

magical. Obviously, those vibes are meant to be enjoyed but what flourished those songs are actually the lyrics. It teaches me so much about life than I can achieve from a classrooms teaching and learning. Music is like short story, full with happiness, sadness, confusion, anger and hatred or loneliness that gives me a better outlook about life and accepting it as another journey to complete myself as a human. Not as a boy or a girl but a human. Essentially, music also influenced me to be different than other people, be more original and rely truly to my own ability and self. This is the part where i favour the most. Every tiny creature of human being loves to stand out but in reality they follow attentively to the society because nobody wants to be the alien. The terms band-wagon fits the most for these people. They want to be unique but they are too scared to risk it. I always have this private speech with myself that i will not be like them because what I think defines me. I do not want to follow the society steps just to please them and music is the form of literature that helps me to embark on this journey. Step by step, i tried to squash away the negative stigma and dogma about being a Muslim woman because in my own experiment being a Muslim woman is jovial and not contented. This is the form of literature that gave me strength and creativity to take a leap of faith by being a real human to her own self. My ominous whirlpool of mind always aggravates me to be the best at anything including smashing a cockroach under my bed. Books and movies are another massive influence of literature in me. For books, I am currently infatuated with Marina Mahathirs piece of work. She writes with her heart on it. From politics, education to personal hygiene, she encourages woman to be smart from inside and outside. Only God knows how much respect that i have for her and her English. I enjoyed learning vocabulary and her sense of humour in writing although it is a serious subject matter. Academically, she pushes me to master my English proficiency because I do not want to be any ordinary girl next door. I want to be more than that. I want to soar above the high mountain of Alps and take a stroll along the boulevard in Lancashire. By mastering English, it gives me this unimaginable satisfaction in writing an essay or the grammar rules. I can even fulfil my dreams of being a globetrotter just like Ibnu Batutta. Scrupulously, i even thought Dantes Inferno is pretty cool to be read leisurely due to Marinas suggestion of poems and it really gives me a good vibe of seeking salvation when I read it which is very academic in sense of religion.

On the other hand, either it is Sci-fi, romantic-comedy, thriller or whatever genres available out there, Forrest Gump will always be my choice of literature in the interpretation concept of movie. Personally and academically, it definitely teaches me the value of being alive. The spirit and enthusiasm shown by Forrest really moves me deeply that if I worked hard, i can almost do anything. Forrest is not like any ordinary man. He was born with a down-syndrome problem which made him strive harder than any other human being so that when people see him, he is just like us. He is not afraid to die in a battlefield and he undergoes the journey of life just like a box full of chocolate; you will know never what is inside the box and how does each chocolate taste like but it gives you happiness and anxiety when you taste it. I always have this issue of giving up too early when i have to solve course-work problems or other stuff. It has been with me and will always be a part of me. That is why i always have this movie with me. It encourages me to push myself to the limit so that i will not regret at the end of the day. The movie symbolises countless of issues and the sadness that he has to bear with peoples prejudice against his abilit y and the lost of loved one. I relate correspondingly everything that i watch, learn and actions taken with my life. It might be slightly different but I get it. Life is hard but if we managed to anticipate it, there are always surprises hiding along the mystery hole of life. Over and over again literature helps me to hold on on this piece of advice; there are thousands ways for you to end your life, but to live, it takes courage and noble heart to move along.