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Fatima Fontenot
Professor Lawson
English 113A
1 October 2014
Essay 1 Final draft
1,557
My Life My Story My Literacy
There are many events that have shaped my relationship with language and literacy both
impacts have had a positive and negative effect on me but still is the reason why my reading and
writing skills are how they are today. My interest in books started while I was in elementary
school. I got a little older I started to learn how to develop essays and have been ok at doing so
since tenth grade. I am not much of a reader or writer; I do it when I am told. It was pushed at
school but not really enforced. When I was young I would read like the girl from the getaway for
an escape.
In elementary I would say I was like the boy from spiderwick. I was always in trouble at
school and my mother most of the time did not know what to do, she hated the fact that she
would get calls from my school almost everyday saying I am misbehaving or not turning in
assignments. Finally my mom just like in spiderwick sent me to my aunts but I went in the
middle of the school year not the summer, my aunt loved children she never had the chance to
have any of her own. I liked reading so much at school I told my aunt and she bought me the
Harry Potter book, I never even read it or opened it to read the first page, my aunt was devastated
she went out of her way to buy me a book and I did not even read it and I did not do it on
purpose, I just did not feel any interest in reading it or time and I hurt her and that hurt me and

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still to this day I never opened that book. I did not stay with my aunt very long I stayed about
two weeks and went home, even though I loved reading aloud in class I learned I did not like it
as much if I had to do it in my free time.
Middle school was the time I had homeroom for the first time ever and in homeroom you
had to read the books and of course I did not I would talk to friends instead all my three years in
middle school, I learned every way to skip reading especially if I really did not need to do it I
would find a shortcut. Diary of a Wimpy Kid came out and for some apparent reason I wanted to
read it because I heard so much about it. I would sit hours at a time just so I could see what
happened next, what I loved most about reading is the suspense or knowing or guessing about
what will happened next. Reading was interesting and it became a way more appealing to me, I
had to read all of them and that is what I did cover to cover every Diary of a Wimpy Kid book I
read and I loved it. Reading was interesting but as I got older I did not try and make time for it
like I should have done, but I sure do it now but only for school purposes I guess you can say it
is a reward when you read for pleasure because it is really nice.
I would say my peak of writing was when I was in the tenth grade. I really never enjoyed
writing essays because I felt I was really bad at doing them I wanted it to be a perfect paper all
the time. My tenth grade teacher was awesome especially for a pregnant lady, she showed us the
fun in writing she made it interesting by showing us relatable videos on YouTube it was focusing
on the writing structure of the course and it caught my attention and made me actually want to sit
down and do an essay, even if I was not so comfortable with my writing I try to see the positive
side in learning new things to add on to my abilities when writing an essay. The first essay I
actually wrote in her class was about 9/11 the tragic accident that occurred in New York City, I
earned a B on the essay I wanted and A really bad because I felt I went beyond expectation but

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then I read it to myself and felt I should have received a C I was lucky to have received a B on
that essay and I was content after that. Just because you write an essay and think it is gold does
not mean it is, double checking is always good, I still was not confident about my writing skills I
still disliked essays but I try my hardest when I have to do one.
For me when I hear reading and writing I think essays, it is not the most enjoyable thing
but it has to be done. My twelfth grade English teacher who was not liked by many of her
students was the best English teacher I have ever had so far and her name was ms. Conroy. She
was the neat freak and persist type she was a woman who looked like she had about five pairs of
the same pants and tops and that is all she would wear and her days where a routine we did the
same thing as planned no matter how the day before went. Se had an organizer the first week of
school and it explained how that worked and it was really helpful throughout our reading
prompts we had to do. She made writing simple and clear, I would feel really comfortable doing
my essays because I knew if they were in her format which was introduction body paragraphs
and a conclusion your good, she was a good teacher she even put scented stickers on your paper
when you got an A on your essay I would love the smell and that in a weird way motivated me
into writing better. I always tried to get an A and I did most of the time and I felt really good
about myself.
Me and my transition from High School to college was scary I cried before I did my
intent to register because I felt I was not ready yet I felt I was not good enough to attend a 4 year
university, I knew there was going to be a lot more work and I was not ready to take on all that
responsibility because I knew my writing and my math class were going to be most difficult
classes, and that meant for me to suck it up and be an adult. When I walked in my English class I
was nervous even though I saw kids outside all of there classes wondering if it was even there

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class it s pretty funny. Well before class actually started I met a friend who still my friend today
and her name is Mayda and she is awesome and she makes the English class just even better with
her presence and I am glad I met her. Getting to know my professor was scary because you dont
know them or if they are mean or just not caring and to my surprise a nice short hair brunet came
in the door happy as can be and greeted us and she was just what you would like to have if you
had to pick your English professor. Professor Lawson is a good teacher so far she shows to be
very positive and flexible when it comes to class work or if you need an explanation on anything
she is always there to help. All writing assignments have lead up to this essay I am doing now
and I feel even though I have only had this class for a month or two and I already can see where
it has shaped my literacy.
I am still not much on reading these days, I do it only when I have to now I really want
do want to read without having it to be forced on but I cant find the time when I am not doing
my homework I am on social media. I feel like I have to read a lot anyways because I have
already read many excerpts from this class and I am reading a book for another class and that is
the most constructive reading I have done I n a long time. But it felt good. In most cases when
required to do something you do the bare minimum of the reading so you can say you read and
that is what I do all the time. I enjoy reading it is nice for me I just feel there is not time for me to
actually do it. Writing is something I definitely dont do on my free time unless it involves me
texting or on social media so I technically write everyday but I do not write essays or write in a
journal or something. I consider myself a literate person, I mean who isnt now days with
technology you can learn almost anything or there is an app for everything. Everyone has a story
in the end that is literacy.

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Works Cited
Pastrano, Bianka. Get Away .New Voices. Sandra Jackson & Amy Reynolds. Plymouth:
Hayden- McNeil publishing 2015. 22-23. Print
Harris,Jordan. Spiderwick. New Voices. Sandra Jackson & Amy Reynolds. Plymouth: HaydenMcNeil publishing 2015. 18-19. Print