Daily Writing 9/1/15

Make a short list of anyone who has helped your literacy narrative.
1. My parents- My mother had a very big role in my learning. Ever since I could
remember, she was reading me bed time stories and making me actively
participate in the reading. In some sense, she bribed me to start reading, and
it really worked.
2. My kindergarten teacher- My teacher was an old lady that went to my church,
so she essentially helped me grow up for the first six years of my life, so she
gave me particular attention and assistance.
3. My Grandmother- Every day after school for seven years, I would ride the bus
to my grandmothers house. The first thing, she would make me a snack and
make me read my books or assigned readings for that night.
4. My younger siblings- Growing up, I would always help my younger brother
and sister learn how to read.
9/3/2015
Maiden Elementary School was the very first place that I started to bring my reading
and writing skills to life. At that time, it was a tiny school with no more than 300 kids
holding onto the thin rope to make sure they stayed in line. It was much more
personal back then, where I knew all the teachers and they all knew me, which
really helped me in learning because we had a personal relationship.
9/8/15
As a little kid in first grade, the best time of the year had to be the School Book Fair.
They would fill up our library with all kinds of cool stuff like books, posters, huge
pencils and basically anything a kid could want that was somewhat school related.
Personally, my favorite things that I bought have to be a draw between my crazy
looking pencils that never seemed to work, and my Duke poster that still hangs over
my bed at home to this day. I didnt buy many books at book fairs, but the few I did
were funny cartoon stories and the infamous I Spy books, which everybody loves,
no matter the age.
9/10/15
Without a doubt, my favorite books growing up had to be the ones about monster
trucks, fire trucks race cars, airplanes and trains. I got these books in stacks from
the local branch library. I was very interested in what they did, how they moved,
how trains pulled that much, and especially how the heck planes flew for so long. All
these questions drove me to keep reading these books, and Im sure that I ended up
reading the same ones at least ten times a piece. Besides these, I didnt have much
interest in other genres until third grade.
9/15/15
My earliest memories of computers werent until about first grade, when they
introduced them to us at Maiden Elementary. We had no clue how to use them at
that age, but they were still the coolest things in the world. I wasnt introduced to
using PowerPoint until the fifth or sixth grade, however. We just used it to create

PowerPoints on books we read and basic items like that. Even then it was not widely
used as the school had a relatively low budget, hence a low amount of computers.

9/17/15
The biggest connection that I have with the book is that I keep bees at home as
well. We only have one hive, not nearly the number the Boatwrights have. I too,
went through the learning process like Lilly, learning about the bees and the
individual parts of the hives, and how to clean them out as well. The coolest thing,
however, is when my uncle taught me how to put the bees to sleep by using a
special smoke tool, and thats a very cool sight.
9/29/15
My grandparents on my fathers side live in Lincoln County, NC, which is the area
that the Bumgarner family has resided in for over two hundred years. When I was
young, my granny would show me pictures and tell me all sorts of stories of the first
Bumgarners to settle here. As a young boy, I found it amazing that most of them
had the same names my immediate family, which at the time, I thought was just a
big coincidence. To this day, she still sends me emails about new details she digs up
about my prior family history.
10/1/15
This past weekend, I had asked my grandmother what she knew about our family
history, and she responded with many documents, from WWII draft reports, Civil war
Drafts, and US Censuses dating back to the late 1700s. One article was about my
Great Great Great Great Grandfather, Alfred A. Bumgarner, and it included a
complete timeline of his service, including that he was taken prisoner the day
before the Battle of Antietam, which happened to be the bloodiest battle of the war,
where his entire unit was decimated. He was released a few days later. I found this a
very interesting story that I now want to learn as much as I can through war
documents I can find on the internet, as well as at the Bumgarner Family Reunion
this Saturday.
10/6/15
The only special meal I can recall is every thanksgiving, when my dads side travels
to the beach. By this point in the season, we have usually bagged a deer or two,
and while were there, we try our best to catch a good number of fish, but it hardly
ever works out that way. What we end up with is a redneck concoction of deer, fish,
oysters, shrimp, a few others, then of course the classic thanksgiving dishes.
10/8/15
The quote from William Mizner makes me realize how different views can be on
plagiarism. Some authors use many sources without citing them, because you end
up with so many viewpoints that they are conflicting, so you have to basically
decide on a view and it ends up being your own writing. However, if you steal one

source from the internet, people freak out because its plagiarism, which is
somewhat understandable, but somewhat overrated.
10/20/15
I have been experiencing trouble finding information about my family migrated and
where they first settled. There are simply not enough records that I can find that can
confirm anything. I am also having trouble deciding what information to include and
what not to include

10/22/15
In the recent past, I apparently did not create error free work on my Lab report for
my Engineering 1201 class. As I have learned, that is the one class that there is
absolutely no room for error in. After all, they are just preparing us for our future
engineering careers, where one little mistake can cost us a lot of money, or even
worse, our job. It is alright to make a few little errors, but everything has a time and
a place, and I have found that an engineering setting is definitely not one of them.
10/27/15
One of the best techniques when doing a lot of research is trying to submerse
yourself in the topic, and finding some sort of connection within it. When you make
a connection with the event, I find it much easier to look for information. For
example, I had many relatives in the Civil War, and I find it easy to put myself in
their shoes and start with what they were involved in, then expand to the broader
topic of the entire war.
11/5/15
I frequently ask my suitemate Nick to review assignments for me, not only for
UWRT, but for my engineering class and other classes as well. He always does a
great job in giving back constrictive criticism and hes never scared to tell me when
it was awful. He always gives very helpful suggestions on the direction to take my
paper and how to go about doing that. The advice he gives is always helpful and
never a waste of my time.
11/17/15
The recent bombings and series of coordinated attacks in France should be a big
eye opener to the entire world, including us overseas. ISIS proved they were far
more advanced than we knew, and that they are very capable of coordinating a
large scale attacks in very populated areas. They also proved to us that they dont
only attack large scale targets, but also small places, to inflict damage however
possible, which is equally scary. Bottom line, ISIS is very capable of attacking
anywhere in the world, and there is evidence that we may be their next target.
11/19/15

College is full of difficult decisions. While here, everything you do is a decision. One
of the hardest is making yourself roll out of bed for the 8 am classes. There are also
decisions that I have to make is whether to get a head start on due homework or go
out with friends and find things to do, and to eat in my room or go to Crown and get
some real food.