To write an autobiography (literary or otherwise) requires much reflection on one’s own life and finding a way to articulate a lifetime’s worth of details in just a page of words. I must look, therefore, at the key moments in my life, those turning points that create the framework for my literacy acquisition.
I picture myself, age three, sitting on my grandpa’s lap listening to an old familiar story… “Are you my mother?” I can remember hearing this one many times before, and he has skipped some lines. How dare he?! Even at this age, I am unafraid to correct him, especially when he is being lazy and wants to trick me into thinking he is reading it word for word.
Age four, I have memorized every book on my shelf. I play Cinderella as she watches the evil step sisters strut around in their fancy dresses. I can read my sister a book about using the toilet as she is being potty trained.
My love of reading grows from here as I begin school and quickly absorb stories of all kinds. My sister struggles to learn how to read, so my mom invests in Hooked on Phonics. Her disinterest in the program is overshadowed by my fascination for it. Although I already know how to read, I find the phonics tapes mesmerizing.
Books later… The Boxcar Children… The Babysitters Club… American Girl… The Giver… Bridge to Terabithia… Nancy Drew… I am scolded for staying up too late reading on a school night, and after several warnings, I finally agree to go to sleep.
High school turns my love for reading and writing into a hassle. Who wants to read for school over the summer anyway? Instead I spend hours on AIM with other whining high-schoolers who have no interest in The Catcher in the Rye or The House of Seven Gables. Text messaging about soccer practice and the newest high school drama take the place of late night reading.
Senior year and a great English teacher rekindle my love for literature and helped me to find a new passion in writing. This really helps me later as I began my college career. Trading in my texting talents for a more professional manner of writing. And then… falling in love with the Spanish language, and I must start over with the whole literacy process in a new language. Listening to the language, reading children’s stories, writing… and stumbling the whole way.
Each of these milestones has created my understanding of literacy, and I know that I have a long way left to go.
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