Eng 015 - Literacy Narrative

Purav Barot

ENGL 015, SEC 006

Dr. Stacy Day

2/18/2014

Literacy narrative

“Education is the power that cannot be stolen or taken away” by Mahatma Gandhi. I believe that reading and writing are important for understanding and believing in others because literacy can reflect personality and also through reading and writing we come to know others. Literacy is one of the most essential tools used to achieve success in modern technology world.  Reading and writing both are one of the major necessities required to persist and survive in this changing society.

For example, while I was in middle school I hated reading as much as other students, who were having trouble with reading and writing, did. I hated English class so much that I started failing some quizzes and important tests due to my poor performance in English class. After analyzing my grades and performance in English class my counselor put me in English as Second Language class also known as ESL. I felt really embarrassed and horrible because my friends made fun of me and also my parents took away my pocket money, little weekly allowance, due to my poor performance in English. During that embarrassing time my eldest brother knew that I have a potential to overcome hard time, perform much better and succeed. He helped me to overcome that uneasy time and get back in regular English class. Every day after dinner he spent at least two hours with me, helping me to understand how important reading and writing are in order to excel in education. He also helped me finish my homework. He taught me some vocabulary words and also taught me how to write an effective essay that would impress my teachers. He inspired and motivated me so much to do better in English as Second Language class that I was fascinated by my grades and by my capacity to get an A on each and every quiz and test. Within two years, I had taken all required classes to get out of English language Learners class and get back in regular English class. In my 8th grade and my final year of middle school, I was back in regular English class and I thought of it as a chance to prove myself as better and smart student. I took it as a challenge and worked hard enough to get an A in that English class. My hard work and dedication to get an A paid off and I had proven myself as keen and much better student in front of my friends and my parents. I also convinced my parents to start my pocket money, little weekly allowance, again and double it after graduating from middle school. Throughout my middle school I learned how important reading and writing are in order to succeed, impress teachers and get good grades. “Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours” by John Locke.

For another instance, while I was in US Army basic combat training, at night we the trainees used to get about three to four hours of personal time after painful training day. During personal time we were allowed to write letters to relatives and friends and were permitted to talk with other trainees and share personal stories. After conducting personal hygiene I would still have one hour of personal time remaining. So, to free myself from boredom of that one hour, I started reading Holy Bible. Even though I am not Christian I have always been fascinated with religion Christianity and wanted to know how Christianity spread around the world in short period of time. Every day during personal time I would rush to read The Holy Bible instead of spending my time talking and chit chatting with other trainees. The Holy Bible got me so interested in it that I started spending at least one hour behind reading it and understanding prophecies of prophets.