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Monica M. Carreon

Professor Tubbs

ENGL 1301

September 18, 2020

Literacy Narrative Draft

Have you ever looked back and felt like you overreacted in a situation? When I moved

here Fall of 09’ I was in 8th grade and as you know being a teen everything that is an

inconvenience is traumatic, at least for me it was. I am from California so you can imagine my

face and feelings when my parents told me we were moving to Texas. Betrayal and disgust were

the only thoughts in my head at that time. I listened to Welcome to my life by Simple Plan and

I’m just a kid over and over on the drive for 19 hours straight. Little did I know fitting in at

school was going to feel even worse, I was dreading to start school in the middle of the year.

Everyone had made their friends or people grew up with those friends already. All I knew was

that I had to find a way to escape this nightmare and fast.

Just as I thought being the new kid was like those coming of age movies I was obsessed

with back then. I just wanted to scream, I found any opportunity to go and hide from my classes.

Back then the cellphones were flip and you either had one or you didn’t and in my case, I did not

have one. So when you skipped out on a class it was with a buddy in the bathroom or you are just

hiding in the stall. And which option did you think I chose? Correct alone and hiding in the stall
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doodling on my notebook. I had completely given up on school and trying to fit in before I even

gave it a chance. While other girls used the restroom, I overheard them speaking of a book they

were hooked on. A book of vampires and werewolves so desperately wanting the attention of a

human girl, I was intrigued and wanting to go ask the group of girls what it was called.

Remembering that I was alone and hated everything I decided to stay where I was in the stall.

Passing period came and I was observing the other kids while as an outsider I noticed

how they so desperately were in a rush to grow up. The sight of them making out in the hallways

disgusted me and I was about to run back into the restroom to a safe place. While walking down

the hall I could hear an annoying tune “ring, ring, ring banana phone” coming from a classroom.

To my surprise it was my next class English, as I entered, I observed all the lights dimmed down,

the walls were covered with brown wallpaper and I was not in a regular class. He transformed his

classroom to look like a forest, he said proudly that his inspiration was from the book The

Hobbit. We took our seats and we dove straight into our lesson Freestyle; each student was given

a journal and could write ANYTHING! You had 15 minutes to write while he played symphony

music in the background. I wrote about moving and feeling stressed about everything that

happened. After the 15 minutes were over, I felt better like someone had taken all the weight off

my shoulders. That moment I realized that this could be something I can do besides doodling in a

journal. While Mr. Schroeder continued to pick up the journals, he was explaining to the class

how writing and reading was an escape. In writing you are in control of the story, what you say

goes. In reading you are just along for the ride of an amazing journey.

To that first day in Mr. Schroeder’s class I went to every class after. I can confidently tell

you that was the day that shaped me into a writer/reader. I have read more than 100 books and I

collect them all in my little library. It has helped me open and made friends who also enjoy
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reading as much as I do. There is always a light in something you think can stay so dark, it’s

important to feel like you can confide in something you enjoy. For me my safe space went from

a bathroom stall to Mr. Schroeder’s Hobbit classroom.