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Karina Kindell
Professor Raymond
Uwrit 1101 Literacy Narrative
July 6, 2015
My Literacy Voyage
My literacy narrative began at a very young age. My mom was extremely
supportive of me. She also always wanted the best for me and she wanted to be there for
everything (crawling, walking, and talking). I did not even enter regular daycare until I
was eighteen months old because she did not want me to call one of the daycare workers
mom by mistake. My mom being able to work with me on my reading and writing
skills sort of fulfilled her dream of teaching. Thanks to all my moms hard work and
dedication, I was writing and reading a little bit by the time I started Pre-K. My teachers
aide Ms. Whitsett said that I loved trying to help the other children in the class read and
write. She also said that playing teacher was my favorite things to do.
Before I was four, we move out of the apartment complex, Smith Homes; that was
in the city of Greensboro into the rural Guilford County Township called Jefferson. This
rural community was very quiet, except for the crickets at night. I really liked that there
were cows and horses down the road between my house and school. We left the city
because my mother bought a house with a big backyard for me to run and play outside.
The city community was noisy with lots of sirens and commotion, but we did not let that
distract us from my literacy studies. There was not a local library in our new community,
so we commuted on the weekends into town to go the nearest one downtown. We
eventually built ourselves our own mini library between school book fairs and yard sales
with discounted books. Fourteen years later the downtown library is still the nearest one
to visit.

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I was able to kick start my education early by our move into the county district.
The county was starting a new Pre-K program at their school. I was too advanced in
reading and writing for the program in the city and would not have been accepted, but
since there were extra slots available in the county community, I was able to enter the
program.
I had some cousins who attended school in Greensboro. They complained about
not having enough money to do things or go places. Books were worn and some children
had to share books because when kids took them home they lost them and thus created
shortage. They also went to school near a high poverty area and one of my cousins was
picked on for being smart, so she gave up and stopped trying. They ran into similar
problems as Sherman Alexie
A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians
and non-Indians alike. I fought with my classmates on a daily basis. They wanted
me to stay quiet when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers, for volunteers,
for help. We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid (Alexie).
Meanwhile, my school had a strong Parent Student Organization (PTO) with a huge
budget for books and materials. We always started off the year with $10,000-$15,000 a
year. If the teachers needed something, the PTO worked and fund raised to provide it and
we even got free field trips every once in a while. Over the last thirty years over eightyfive research studies have shown that schools with PTAs, a state affiliated version of
PTO, have kids do better when parents are involved. Grades are higher. Test scores
improve. Attendance increases ("PTO vs. PTA)("Why Your School Needs a PTA").
My second year in the elementary, the Principal was transferred out of my school into a

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city school system to help bring up their test scores. My mom was sad to see the
principal leave, because the new one was inexperience and left after one year.
According to my mom, Technology has had an adverse effect in my literacy life
and I agree with her. In the beginning of getting a cell phone, I would only call my mom.
Over time, I began to text friends from school to the point that I was texting all the time
every single day. In the car, while my mom drove us somewhere, I would text someone
and not even pay attention to where we were going, causing me to not know my way
around Greensboro. I also learned different shortcuts such as wyd (what are you doing),
ttyl (talk to you later), and hru (how are you). The abbreviations crept into my standard
writing and computer use, but I could catch it easier on the computer. The use of
Facebook didnt affect my writing at first, because I did use correct grammar, but that too
did eventually change as time went on. The only other form of social media I have
currently is Twitter, and I just got it because I needed it for magazine class. I have never
really liked Twitter and have only posted what was necessary for the class, so of course I
used proper grammar. Half way through my senior year I decided that I would fully spell
out everything in text messages, unless I was in a rush to send it.
The essays, Learning to Read by Malcolm X and Superman and Me by
Sherman Alexie, showed me that it does not really matter where, what you use, or how
you learn to read and write. The ability to read and write allows us to interact with the
surrounding world and communicate with others effectively and that is exactly what
Malcolm X was able to do with his followers (The Importance of Reading and Writing).
Reading and writing allows you to have more of a voice in the world.

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Learning to read and write was a lot like learning to read and write in Spanish and
Music. Both Spanish and Music are foreign languages that may not come easy to
everyone. I have been reading music since the fourth grade when we would have to play
the recorded in music class and continued on into middle and high school on the clarinet.
I have only started Spanish recently in the second semester of my Junior year with
Spanish one and went onto Spanish 3. I am nowhere near proficient, but I would like to
be one day, because it will help me in the medical field. With both Music and Spanish,
you have to start with the basics and work your way up until you finally master it. The
use of flash cards, analogies, and repetition were all used during my studies of Spanish
and Music.
I made a really strong connection with the character, Zach. He is an AfricanAmerican like me and we both want to go far in life. He wants to be a lawyer, and I want
to be a doctor. These are both high level professions and we have both had someone who
has said negative comments towards our future aspirations in life. Lily believed that the
only way Zach could be successful in life was through athletic e.g. football, because she
said Ive just never heard of a Negro lawyer before, thats all. Youve got to hear of
these things before you can imagine them. Zach response was Bullshit. You gotta
imagine whats never been (Kidd 121). As for me, a man told me after he found out
that I wanted to be a neurosurgeon and I quote you dont look very smart. Well I did
not know that smart had a look, but by him saying that just made me want to work harder
to achieve my goal. I have always believed that you can do all things that you put your
mind too, no matter the obstacles that are in the way. Also, the number of AfricanAmerican doctors is decreasing and will cause a problem for low-income minorities, for

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they are the ones that make a commitment to serve these neighborhoods. Lastly, by the
year 2025 for all races there will be a shortage of about 130,000 doctors; they will need
me in the medical field ("Where Are All of the Black Doctors).
I know that my literacy narrative is nowhere near the end. I am just now entering
college, and this is really only the beginning for me. I believe that no writing or reading
skills can ever be fully developed, for there can always be more room for progress. I
hope that my literacy will only skyrocket from her on out and one day we will live in a
world where everyone can read and write.

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Works Cited
Alexie, Sherman. The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me. McQuade,
Donald, Ed. The Writers Presence: A Pool of Readings, Fifth Edition. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martins, 2006. 73-76
Kidd, Sue Monk. "Chapter Seven." The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Viking, 2002.
121. Print.
"PTO vs. PTA: Differences at a Glance." - PTO Today. Web. 10 July 2015.
http://www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/705-pto-vs-pta-differences-ata-glance
"The Importance of Reading and Writing | Enlighten Me." Enlighten Me. 18 Apr. 2014.
Web. 10 July 2015. http://enlightenme.com/reading-and-writing/
"Where Are All of the Black Doctors? Report Shows Declining Number of African
American Medical Students." MadameNoire RSS. 5 Mar. 2013. Web. 9 July
2015. http://madamenoire.com/265230/where-are-all-of-the-black-doctorsreport-shows-declining-number-of-african-american-medical-students/
"Why Your School Needs a PTA." - About PTA. Web. 10 July 2015.
http://www.pta.org/about/content.cfm?ItemNumber=3291