Amanda Hall

Ms. Grant
UWRT1103
September 3, 2014

1


To many, literacy begins when a child reaches a certain age where they are able to write
sentences and read grade school books; in my opinion, literacy begins a lot sooner than that.
Literacy appears in a childs life the moment someone reads a book to them. Children learn
everything they know early on, simply from observation. Whether it is dancing like Dad or
stomping on bugs like an older brother, children pick up habits from the people around them. My
literacy journey began very similar to this; watching and learning from the people around me.
My earliest childhood memory involves one of the biggest books I have ever seen, and by
big, I mean about the length of a pizza box, but half the width. This served as my favorite book
until I reached the age of eight. The book was a new world to me, a world that was so long ago
yet so dear to my family. The pages resembled silk in my innocent eyes and the words were
magic. It was called, My Big Book of Bible Stories. I read this book every night from age two to
eight and it never bored me. Religion has always been a great aspect of my family and the easiest
way to teach a child about Jesus is to show them bible stories through eventful tales and pictures.
Story time was by far my favorite time of the day. I vividly recall hopping into my bed in my
princess pajamas and eagerly waiting for my mother to open up my big book. The stories
fascinated me, the pictures intrigued me, and after a while I memorized many of the words.
Reading this book on a daily basis showed me the importance of both reading and religion. Both
aspects instilled values in me and also had the potential to get me far in life. While religion gave
me something to believe in, reading gave me something to invest in. Though I did not realize it
back then, both religion and literacy empowered me. I truly did love my big book of bible
Amanda Hall
Ms. Grant
UWRT1103
September 3, 2014

2

stories, even when I outgrew it, I was skeptical about my mother giving it away. That was one of
the first books read to me and one of the first books I read. Now, as an eighteen year old young
woman, I hope I am able to find a big book of bible stories for my future children.
In elementary school, AR Reading was a vital aspect of daily curriculum. Each week,
students in all grades would go to the library and pick out a few books to read. At the conclusion
of each week, the students would take AR test on each book they read. An AR test is simply an
online quiz on a book. When I first began taking the AR tests I was saddened to see some of the
other kids reading big novels and making hundreds on their test. Around this time, I was only
making an average of 85 percent. Not only did the children get satisfaction after acing a test, they
gained points which would eventually turn into prizes. While I was stuck getting mediocre
prizes, the other kids were giggling away with their cool ones. I going to get a hundred next
week, I thought to myself. The next week I recall focusing on my book, asking for help with
certain words, and making sure I was ready for the test. As determined, I made a hundred on
most of my tests after that one. As time progressed, my points began increasing even more; not
only because I was acing my tests, but because I was also reading more complex books. The
pages that once contained pictures soon turned into pages with longer, more complicated
sentences. I no longer envied the children with high reading scores because I had become one!
My first EOG test was a breeze, I scored well in all categories but my best score came from the
reading portion. I was steadily moving along in my literacy journey.
Though I do not believe that one is a product of their environment, I am a strong believer
that ones parents have an enormous impact on a persons life. Parents teach a child right from
Amanda Hall
Ms. Grant
UWRT1103
September 3, 2014

3

wrong, and are the ones a child looks to for help. In my opinion, grade school teachers are just
there to reinforce and perfect what parents have already taught their children. My parents serve
as an enormous portion of my literacy journey. They always pushed me to do better even if I
thought I had given my best. Without a doubt, my mother and father were and still are my
immediate sponsors of literacy. I remember the countless afternoons sitting at the dining room
table redoing homework that didnt meet my mothers standards. That is not legible Mandie,
you need to rewrite it before you go outside, she would say. I dreaded hearing those words,
legible, neat, my only concern was going to play. What my mother was teaching from an
early age was that education always came first, no matter what. Though I hated staying inside an
extra ten minutes to redo my work, I was always ecstatic to bring home my papers saying
excellent and great job. Back then I didnt really understand why my parents were so
dedicated to my education. Being that my mother never went to college and my father only
obtained an associates degree at the age of thirty seven, I didnt understand its relevance. We
were living very well without either of my parents being highly educated so why did it matter if
my letter As were crooked or not, I would always think. What they later taught me is that they
wanted me, as well as my siblings, to live better than they ever have. Like all parents, they
simply wanted the absolute best for their children and education was the only way that could
happen. Though I hated their strict guidelines towards education, I now appreciate it more than
anything. Their high expectations for me aided me in developing high expectations for myself.
Therefore, as a second grader, I would rewrite my sentences over and over until all my "Is" were
dotted and all my "Ts" were crossed, correctly of course.
Amanda Hall
Ms. Grant
UWRT1103
September 3, 2014

4

A vignette about my literacy journey would not be complete without the infamous
Readers Digest magazines my father gave to me once a week. Similar to rewriting my
sentences, I dreaded the weekly readers digest. I recall walking in my room and seeing the
miniature magazine sitting on my dresser, ready to collect dust. From about age nine to fourteen,
my father supplied my cousins and I with subscriptions to the magazine against our will.
Reading enhances your vocabulary, it makes you smarter, he would say as I rolled my eyes,
making sure he couldnt see me of course. In my younger days my father would make me take
time out of my day to read a portion of the magazine. However as I got older, he made it an
option. By that time I was more concerned with trips to the mall, how I wanted to do my hair and
what five way conversations my friends and I would be having on the phone that night. When I
was forced to read the little magazine, I would turn straight to the Ask Laskas column. The
fact that I even remember the name of the column proves how much it was incorporated into my
days. Reading the column always interested me. I loved reading about the problems adults had
and the solutions Laskas provided. I would also be intrigued by the stories of the different,
everyday people across America and what crazy things happened to them. Though I hated taking
the time to read the Readers Digest, I was never disappointed when I finally opened it up. Like
my Big Book of Bible Stories, it was a new world. I got a glimpse of what it was like to be a
Muslim in a post September 11
th
America, I learned the feeling of almost dying and being saved
by a complete stranger, I also could experience being a middle class citizen working a dull, nine
to five job in corporate America. The Readers Digest opened up so many different experiences
to me at such a young age. At the young age, I was not able to appreciate the value of the tiny
magazine; however, now I am.
Amanda Hall
Ms. Grant
UWRT1103
September 3, 2014

5

While there have been countless aspects of my literacy journey, the three above have
been the most significant and most memorable. These three memories have aided in shaping me
into the person I am today. While I am an adult by most definitions, my literacy journey has
not stopped. Literacy is an ongoing journey, an endless journey. As society evolves, so do we as
individuals. We must not forget that literacy is synonymous to learning. In the words of
Mohandas Gandhi, we must, Live as though we would die tomorrow, and learn as if we would
live forever.