ErikNeri

MsHamby
UWRT1101Section28
September2014
LiteracyNarrativeRoughDraft
Readingandwritingareskillsthathavebeencollectivelyagreedupontobuildabasic
academicfoundationinnumerousculturesacrosstheworld.Itishardertopinpointacertain
culturethatdisagreesthattheyarenotnecessaryskills.Withthatbeingconsidered,myliterary
careerwasstartedevenbeforeIhadsteppedfootinaclassroom.Myearliestmemoriesof
formingandcommunicatinglanguagewaswhenmymotherandfatherreadtome,pointingout
thewordsandsoundingthemoutastheyreadthemtome.InmyyoungerdaysIusedtoreally
enjoyreadingbooksbecauseitfeltrewardingtoreadandlearnaboutthingsIhavenevereven
heardofbefore.HoweveronceIgotolderIlostinterestinreadinganddidnotcareforitunlessI
hadto.Writingtookasimilarpath,butIhavealwaysfeltlikeithasbeenapunishment,andI
feellikethereisageneralconsensusamongmygenerationthatwritingisnotapleasingactivity.
Throughoutmyentirechildhoodmyreadingcareerhasgonedownaverydifferentpath
thanmywritingcareer.WhenIwasinelementary/middleschoolIwasveryintimidatedby
writingpapers,reports,etc.Ialwaysfeltasifmywritingwassubparthanmyclassmates,and
thatfeelingofbeingbehindwasverydauntingandreallyhadanimpactonmeasastudent.That
feelinghasactuallynevergoneaway,tothisdayIfeelacertainlevelofincompetencetoan
extent.Ihaveneverreallybeenfondofpeoplelookingandreadingmypapers,becauseofthat
fearthatIhaveyettoovercome.Grammarruleshavealwaysseemedtootechnicaltoalways

understandandapplythem,sooftentimeswheneverImisspellwordsorforgetacertain
punctuationinmyessays,itisoftentimesbecauseIamunfamiliartotherulesorsimplybecause
Iwritetoofastformyowngood.
ThisfeelingofincompetencehasbeenapartofwhoIamasastudentformywholelife.
Itisacombinationofthingsbutalackconfidenceinmywork,andmyinabilitytoaskforhelp
whenIneeditseemstobethetwoprevalentthemes.WhenIwriteIalmostneveraskfor
feedbackbecauseIaminsecureaboutmyworkandthereforeassumepeoplewhoreaditwill
judgemebasedsolelyoffofanessay.Therehasalsobeenmanyincidentswherepeopletear
downmyworkwithoutanythingconstructivetosay,andthisobviouslyaffectedmemorewhenI
wasyounger,andevenmoreinsecure.EventhoughnowIvetaughtmyselftobrushitoffand
notpayinganymindtoitbecauseitisinevitable.HowevertherehavebeentimeswhereIhave
shruggedoffconstructivecriticismbecauseIwasbeingtoodefensiveandIrealizethatIwas
wrongforthat.
Mywritinghasbeenimpactedbymanyteachersovermypast12yearsofschooling.In
myyoungerdaysforexample,mythirdgradeEnglishteacherwasveryhardonmyclassabout
learningcursiveandintimidatingusabouthowifyoudontlearncursive,peoplewillnottake
youseriouslyintherealworld..MostofmyexperienceofherclasshasbeenforgottenbutI
whathasstuckwithmesinceismyhateforcursive.Ithasalwaysseemedlikeanunnecessary
formofmanuscript,soIvenevergottenmuchuseoutofit.
AnotherpersonwhohasgreatlyimpactedmywritingskillsismyseniorEnglishteacher.
BeforeenteringherclassIwasabelowaveragewriterwhowasstillreallyintimidatedand
uninterestedinwritingupbigassignments,whichwassomethingwehadtodooftenforher

class.Shewasoneofthefewpeoplethathasactuallysatdownwithmeandhelpedmeimprove
mywriting.ShehastaughtmevaluableresearchskillsthatIwillusenowincollege,andshe
taughtmetheimportanceofplanningforapaperbeforestartingtowriteit.Shewasveryharsh
withgradingpapersandthateventuallymademeamorehardenedwriter,whonolongersaw
writingasaburden,butasameansofcommunicatingsomethingvaluable.Shewouldmakeus
writeabouteverypieceofliteraturethatwereadina500750wordessay,andseeingmy
improvementfromthefirstonetothelastonewasextremelyrewardingbecauseapplyingwhatI
hadlearnedwithmyteacheralmostseemedeffortless.ThatwasthemomentwhereIfeltasifmy
writingcareerhadtakenaverysharpturnforthebetter.
Readingwasactuallyabigfactorinmynewfoundeasewithwriting,becausethetexts
shepickedoutforustoreadwereoftentimescontroversialandverythoughtprovoking.She
mademyclassreadtitlessuchas:NeverLetMeGoby:KazuoIshiguro,TheThingstheyCarried
by:TimObrien,Hamletby:Shakespeare,InColdBloodby:TrumanCapote,andmanyother
smallerpiecesofgreatliteraturethatprovokedaresponsefromtheaudience.Allofthesetexts
havebeenvitaltomynewperspectiveonwriting.