Nayana Dubier English 1102 Section 0018 The Power of Words Some of my fondest memories as a child were created

inside a hospital. Around the age of five, my step-grandfather, Pat, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer which caused him to spend most of his time in a hospital. My parents, sister and I would constantly go visit him. The majority of memories that I have of my grandfather is of him with a book in his hand. His passion was reading, even during the last and most difficult stages of his cancer, my grandfather would be seen with a book in his hand. I remember he used to have the biggest grin on his face when my sister would read her school assigned books, like The Outsiders or To Kill a Mockingbird, out loud to him. He would tell us that by reading to him, it would numb the pain. Of course I wanted to take the pain away from my grandfather so I would constantly pester my parents and my sister to teach me how to read until I was able to independently read books like Where the Wild Things Are, all the Dr. Seus books, and Winnie the Pooh to him. Every time I would read my grandfathers eyes would get bright and his smile would be from ear to ear, which inspired me to keep on reading. I began writing little, made-up stories to even read to him. It was also during this time that I realized that I wanted to be a doctor, seeing my grandfathers doctor constantly helping and making him feel better. So by the age of six I not only knew what I wanted to be, I was also able to help cure my grandfathers pain with the power of stories. Unfortunately, a little over a year later my grandfather passed away from the lung cancer. Not only did I lose one of my favorite people, I lost my love for reading. After my grandfather died, I just did not want to read anymore. My parents told me that they had to force me to read

because I just never wanted to pick up another book again. I felt as if words had failed me. It made me question if I still wanted to be a doctor. This lack of passion for reading continued until the eighth grade. In January of 2009, it was mandatory for my eighth grade class to take the EXPLORE test. Which according to act.org is, the first part of a testing system that goes on to include PLAN and the ACT and is an educational assessment [that] students usually take in the eighth grade. This test would have a major influence on what type, like honors or standard, classes I would take my freshman year of high school. It made me realize that I had to really take the next four years of high school really serious because my progress during these years would determine where I attended college. The day after the EXPLORE test, I sat down in my room and thought of what I wanted career path I was going to choose. It made me think back to the days in the hospital, when I wanted to be a doctor. I realized that deep down I still wanted to continue down the medical path and in order to do this I needed to find a way to get back my passion for reading and writing. So I walked to the nearest library and got my first library card. That white, plastic library card gave me access to all that I needed to help make my dreams come true. I began by reading one of my grandfathers favorite books, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. After that, I began to fill the same exact excitement I use to feel reading books as I did when I was younger. I spent ample amounts of time reading in my one, little corner in the library. All this reading led me to take AP writing courses, which helped improve my literacy skills even more. In the similar way that reading allowed Malcolm X to express himself more clearly, the reading and writing I did both inside and outside the classroom has aided in my ability to communicate and express myself more clearly with my peers. Looking back on my life, I would have considered only my family, my grandfather, friends, and my teachers as my sponsors in

my literacy development but after reading Deborah Brandts Sponsors of Literacy, my idea of what a sponsor truly is has broaden. Brandt connects the word sponsor with occasions, materials, institutions, applications, and people that help develop literate potential (165-185). Now I am able to add: books, the EXPLORE test, my library card, my AP writing classes and my schools to the list of sponsors that have aided in the development of my literacy skills. Brandt also states that, literacy sponsors affect literacy learning in two powerful ways. Help to organize and administer stratified systems of opportunity and access, and they raise the literacy stakes in struggles for competitive advantage (178). I can see from some of the major events in my life like reading to my grandfather, taking a break from reading, and rekindling the passion for reading and writing has provided me with many opportunities that will help in succeeding in my dreams of becoming a doctor.

Work Cited
"ACT." . N.p.. Web. 28 Aug 2013. <http://www.act.org/explorestudent/>.

Brandt, Deborah. Sponsors of Literacy. 49. National Council of Teachers of English, 1998. 165185. Print. X, Malcolm , and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 1965. Print.