Davis 1

Jack Davis

Professor Robertson

ENC 1101

26 September 2019

My Literacy Narrative

I was in fifth grade. My teacher Ms. Phillips had just given the class a project she called

“My Hero.” We were supposed to write a speech about who our hero was and why, then deliver

it to the class. She said the best speech would move up and be given at an awards ceremony later

on. It sounds corny, but I knew that I was going to make my speech about my dad from the

second she announced the assignment. My dad is awesome. He is a man of many hats and is

always able to give his attention and effort to someone that needs it. He works hard, has his

priorities straight, and balances it all like he’s been around forever. All I want is to turn out like

something similar to him. So I went to work crafting probably the first speech I had ever written.

I was always a good student but I worked extra hard on this assignment. I used big words, put

real emotions into it, and I was very proud of it. I thought of it as a way to thank my dad for

being so great. The time came and I gave my speech to the class. My teacher loved it and I was

asked to do it again at the awards ceremony. Of course I was nervous but I was so excited to be

able to do it. My parents talked to me the night before the ceremony. They told me it was okay

to be nervous and that they were proud of me for stepping up. The next day I got to school, very

nervously thinking about this speech and all the people focusing on what I had to say.
 Davis 2

Ms. Phillips came over to me and said that if I was too nervous the principal could read the

speech at the ceremony. Looking back I realize that it was an impulsive decision, but I told her I

would be happier if the principal read it. So there are my parents, my dad in his uniform and my

mom next to him, waiting for me to get onstage and read this thing that I had been so obsessed

with. The principal came out and smiled at everyone, then gave a brief speech about how her

students are her heroes. My parents were there, my dad had just come from work, and they were

anxious to hear me. Then she gave my speech about my dad. I should have been the one giving

that speech.

She began reading my words and I immediately felt a huge wave of disappointment. She

was great! She read it word for word and everyone clapped and looked at me. I hadn’t done

what I set out to do. I’m not even sure what it was. Was I afraid that my speech wasn’t good

enough? Was it that there were so many parents? Maybe I just didn’t do it because it was just

easier to have the principal read it. I knew one thing though, I was proud of that speech and how

it would make my dad feel. I should have given it like I said I was going to.

From that experience I learned to trust myself when it comes to writing. I promised that I

wouldn’t let any outside pressures get in the way of something that I wanted to write and turn in,

publish, or speak again. I was so disappointed in myself. I wished that I would have gutted up

and given that speech. I should’ve taken some of the lessons I had learned from my dad: give it

your best, be proud of everything that you do, and don’t let anyone take anything from you.

When I write now, whether it be for school, college admission essays, or anything else, I make

sure to say what I think, mean what I say, and stick to it. These were values that Eric Church

knew too.
 Davis 3

I lived in Virginia when I was in eighth and ninth grade. When I look back I remember

that time very fondly. I clearly picture the winter of ninth grade, my dad and I worked on our

dirtbikes a ton. I think we did it because it was too cold to ride so all we could do was mess with

them. Around that time a country singer named Eric Church released an album called “Mr.

Misunderstood.” My dad and I ended up really liking that whole album and played it on repeat

for the majority of the time we worked in the garage. I’ve heard every song on the album

probably more than 300 times and I still listen to them frequently. Eric Church is a very

blue-collar guy. His songs are about being proud of who you are, sticking to your guns, and

saying what you think. During that winter listening to Eric Church was where I built on a lot of

the values and priorities that I had learned from my dad and my speech in fifth grade, specifically

those related to writing and speaking. In general I acquired a strong sense of “work hard to get

where you want to go, be proud of your accomplishments and reflect on your failures, give your

best effort in everything, and have confidence in yourself” type of thinking.

This translated to my school work in my following high school years. I was very

focused, I took my work seriously and didn’t waste time on people who didn’t do the same. I

knew that if I was going to get into a good college and have the future I wanted, I would have to

put in the work now and on my own. This meant that I did not have time for a lack of

confidence like I did in past years. Above I explained what happened in fifth grade and how I

had given up after working hard on something. I got into my own head and for reason(s)

unknown I couldn’t follow through. If I would’ve had the mentality that I do now then things

would have been different. But that’s another thing I learned from his songs; don’t dwell on the

past too much because you can only affect how you’re going to handle things in the future. Eric
 Davis 4

Church’s music helped me solidify my ideas about school and life. I didn’t know it then but my

experience that winter would help for the rest of my schooling and specifically during senior

year.

Mr. Gamboa was my twelfth grade English teacher. He was very passionate about

writing and speaking and some of that passion rubbed off on me. Towards the end of the year he

assigned us a speech. It was very open-ended but had to include something about identity. The

actual writing was a big part of the grade but delivering the speech was the majority of it. He

told us we had to wear a suit, the speech had to be longer than five minutes, and that we had to

actually be interested in what we wrote so that it wouldn’t be boring. There was no backing out

of this one. I ended up writing my speech about the national identity of the United States. The

main point was that not enough young people (age 18-34) vote and because of this, the country’s

national identity is not representative of this group. I did the research, put a lot of effort into

writing the speech, practiced giving it, and was again very proud of my work. This time though,

I knew the feeling of disappointment that comes with giving up on yourself and I was not going

to let that happen.

I walked into class with the same feeling of apprehension that plagued me in fifth grade.

But when he called my name I was calm and excited to show off my work. I gave my speech

and I thought it was great. I was complimented by a few classmates and Mr. Gamboa said that I

did well. I got an 84% on the assignment. I thought about the grade for awhile and decided that

I was happy with it. I wondered if I should have earned a better score than 84% but then I came

to the conclusion that this project was about me and not about the grade. I learned that grades

are definitely important but having confidence in my work was more valuable to me. I knew that
 Davis 5

I had done my best. That feeling solidified the promise I made to myself in fifth grade and the

values that I had learned over that winter. This time I had done what I said I would do, I proudly

gave my speech, and I was happy with the result. It was exactly the way that it should have been

in fifth grade and exactly the way Eric Church would have done it. Through this I found that

writing isn’t always about getting a grade. It can also be about the feeling of accomplishment

and inner respect for actually doing it as well as what you learn about yourself through the

process. In the end, school is supposed to be for the benefit of the student. In fifth grade I had

no idea that I was starting a multiple year journey that would develop me as a student and lead

me to college. I never thought that I was going to develop lifelong values because of it, I was

just excited to write about my dad! The whole thing is crazy but I am where I am today because

of these events.

Word Count: 1,623