Taylor McLeod English 1103-11 Professor Albert Wray September 17, 2013 The Importance of Reading in My Literacy History

Reading has singlehandedly had the largest affect on my life. My literacy history is an account that I would consider one of the most important journeys in my life as a person who has always gone above and beyond to seek new knowledge as I improve my literacy skills academically and personally. There are many influences that have sponsored and still sponsor my literacy journey; the most important are those individuals that have given me their time and efforts to allow me to better acknowledge how important it always strive to be the best I can be in my literate education and comprehension. This literacy endeavor in my life is an acknowledgement that reading could provide a conscious sense of the power that reading provides, a sense of importance, and knowledge is the direct cause of the success and understanding of literacy that I possess today. During my child a developed a deep passion for reading, I believe that this is due to me being very good at it from the start. Though I dont remember when I first started to read, the story begins as I, a young blonde headed child with a comb-over first discovers that when you read, you also receive information that can help you become more knowledgeable. I learned that reading was the answer at a very young age, and that if you want to know something, you have to read, and that someone is not always going to have the answer. Quotes from my father such as, You will become who you are by the people you meet, and the books you read, still go through my head to this day. These ideas were drilled into my head over and over again by those

that truly wanted the best for me, and soon I began to realize that a book was not only a source of entertainment, but also an object that could increase my intelligence and understanding of the complex world around me. As a source of entertainment in my eyes, reading allowed me to learn more effectively. The idea that learning was a source of entertainment was inevitable in my life early on due to the values instilled my parents. This discovery is what would soon spark a desire in me to become more knowledgeable about the world, and myself so I began to try to develop my literacy skills so that I could do so. I can always remember those days in the Fuquay Elementary library, spending sometimes hours trying to find the most interesting book, in what small selection that my small town elementary school consisted of. Back then, it wasnt cool to read but I didnt care, it was what I wanted to do. I was told that when I read, I could become anything or anyone that I wanted to be. Book series after book series I would read, anxious at the next book fair to come around during the year. I can even remember times when I was picked on for reading so much. Reading then to me was more about an adventure, and an escape from the world around me. Throughout my early experiences of discovering self through reading, I felt a sense of loneliness in my reading. Generally speaking, other peers didnt share the sense of enjoyment in reading as I did. This drive to become a reader has been what so greatly affected my beliefs, intelligence, and personality today. There though has been a time when reading wasnt the thing that I wanted to be doing. I can remember my mom holding me back from kindergarten because she believed that I wasnt prepared enough. She said that I didnt want to learn, and would enjoy doing other things much more. This decision hasnt had a large impact on me socially or personally due to this occurring at such a young age. This may have beem the case in many of our lives, but it reminds me just

how much of an impact reading has made on me. Once exposed, I couldnt get enough of reading and writing. This personal drive that I discovered was the start of a new journey in literacy. This drive helped me focus on specific goals that I wanted to achieve such as reading the next book in a series, or learning the next set of words. This personal drive was enhanced by many motivation factors in my life. The main body of motivation factors in my life that enhanced my literacy learning a personal drive to learn literacy consisted of mainly my family and the church that I grew up in. These are the external factors that not only so greatly motivated me helped me set multiple literacy goals and objectives, but helped me push and work to achieve them, when they seemed unrealistic, or even sometimes easy. My grandmother, I believe was the first to express to me the importance of reading and writing. In that old country home more than a half century old, I can remember the stacks of books in a small, cramped back room: Childrens book, encyclopedia sets, novels, some old newspapers, all which had that particular smell of an old book that is so familiar to us. Every time I was at my grandmothers I can specifically remember her saying Taylor have you read today, Taylor you need to read. I never at that time understood why it was so important to read at that time. I can remember before even before I could read, her reading to me from the Bible, handing me newspapers, and those different books that had words and pictures associated with them. I remember then sitting on her lap as she guided me through the words and syllables on the page. I remember how personal she was with me and I remember how she stressed the importance of reading. Decisions to read books like the Bible, newspapers, and older selections of text I believe was greatly influenced her personality and cultural perspective. Books that she may have read in her lifetime held more value in her mind as compared to those that my

generation had grown up with. Maybe these same ideals, cultural perspectives and personality have been instilled in me. I believe this is another reason why I enjoy reading, the book may bring back memories, and it becomes more personal. Growing up in a reading home where reading and writing was a daily occurrence and necessity has also been a major factor in my literacy history and motivation to do well in my literacy studies. My parents, when I was little accepted and supported my decision to read and explore my own literacy instead of fully participating in sports. This decision shouldnt have come as a surprise to them. From what I can remember they were always willing to get any book I requested. I can always remember them being proud of my infatuation with reading, which seemed to be a task that most parents in a way had to nag and force their kids to do at the time. I was proud of myself. When my parents read to me, it allowed them the ability to connect with me in their own language and gave them the capability to teach me literacy skills while exposing me to new words and pronunciations. I can still see how I talk like them today. Developing these reading skills allowed me to also be exposed to ideas that spurred my interest in reading. A decision like this at such a young age must have come from outside influences from a set of expectations. The decision I believe mainly occurred because I found enjoyment in reading. Why would I try something else when I already have this? Did it make me different from my peers? Yes, there was an introverted aspect about me, and it is still a part of my personality that still exists today. The church that I born into, and raised in, a large brick Baptist church outside of Raleigh, has also played a huge role in my literacy development. From reading the Bible, to memorizing various verses, to even chapters within it, revealed the importance of digging within text to find the meaning of a set of words. Being raised in a church taught me the importance of being able to

read and interpret text. Reading the Bible at such a young age proved difficult because often times the words and layout of the sentences in the King James Version of the Bible was not so easy to understand. Just like going to the church itself, the ability to learn such language was driven by family members, close people in the church such as the preacher, but especially my father who would often times read out of the Bible at night. Much of what I read from the Bible was watered down version for kids that consisted of a few sentences and pictures. I wanted to learn more and be able to dig in for my self and to feel fully a part of people that surrounded me. This is an example of another outside motivation that pushed me to improve my literacy. This book opened a whole new world for me. I was able to share what I had discovered through my reading with peers around me, and felt proud to share it with my parents. Was it for them or was it for me? Im not sure. Not only was I able to just sit down and read words and somewhat connect them into a story, I was able to examine the text and come up with the meaning, moral truth, theme and importance of the words themselves. Learning this skill was key in my literacy development, and what really made me fall in love and develop this passion for reading. Competitiveness also drove me to become successful in my literacy early on. During this early period of me discovering my literacy skills, my elementary school introduced me to a program called Accelerated Reader. This program challenged me to read more books, and eventually would expose me to more genres and writing styles. I still to this day have the stacks of medals that I would receive after earning 100, 200, or even a 1000 Accelerated Reader points. I was proud of successes in this program, and was even nominated to go to a countywide book quiz due to my accomplishments in the program. This achievement early on in my literacy learning further spurred me to become more involved in reading. This program I believe is the

most major factor in me becoming the reader that I am today. It also helped me keep a positive outlook on reading, and help me develop into an individual that strived to learn to read for myself. Being so attached into books benefited my academically and intellectually at a young age, but it also affected me socially. Being so infatuated and fixated with books in a way made me unsocial in a way, and I really didnt see the importance of being social at an early age. Most of my reading experiences at this time were solitary events rather than an experience that I would have shared with peers. This is the only thing in my literacy history that I wish I could go back and change; in fact I still believe I face some of consequences today. My difficulty in public speaking is what I believe I can attribute to being unsocial during this time in my life. The drive to read and do well early in my life directly affects me today. Reading and writing today can help me achieve goals and dreams in my life that I have for the future. Early on it was hard to keep my motivation, and it was hard for me to work towards my reading goals, especially at such a young age. It was best for me to commit to reading small text at first, and then move up in difficulty. Through the described motivation factors above, I was able to develop a reading pattern and technique that I still use today, and it kept me positive about reading and learning, and fueled a desire to learn more. It was challenging to overcome some of the reading obstacles, but in the end it was very beneficial for me to work harder and become successful. In conclusion, the passion and determination to read that was developed within me at such an early age has had a enormous impact on my literacy skills that I have, and are still developing today. I fully acknowledge that I wouldnt be where I am without the push from external motivation sponsors such as my religious institution, individuals from my family, and

that small town library where I spent so many hours of my day. These individuals taught me the importance of reading and knowledge, and helped me develop skills that guided me through text so that I could dissect what the words were saying into a theme, or a moral. Most importantly they established this motivation and drive to read and to learn which has significantly guided and molded me into the literate individual that I am today.