Oscar Zelaya

04/20/15
Literacy Ethnography
UWRT - 1101
Literature and Me
Throughout my life a variety of things have affected my literate characteristics. My
immigrant parents Hispanic culture has influenced my literacy with their Spanish influences. As
the oldest child my literate history will greatly affect that of my younger. My affinity for
Buddhist culture allowed me to further explore deep intellectual ideologies that enhance my
literacy.
I was born here in the United States but my father was born in Nicaragua and my mother
in Honduras. Both my parents were a part of the Nicaraguan Civil War while my dad was a part
of the Contra militia forces at the tender age of 16, my mother was a refuge in Honduras as the
war spread to other countries. Education was taken from my parents and in turn it became of
great importance once they arrived in the United States during the time of the Reagan
Administration. When I was born my parents immediately began to push me to watch academic
programs and even my toys where of intellectual value. This affected me greatly by instilling in
my mind that academics must be a great part of life, as time progressed and I grew up and mature
the manifestation of my parents pushing academics came to reality. I scored a 30 on my ACT in
high school and started to explore a variety of different ideologies once I became a part of AP
classes. My senior year of high school we explored a large quantity of literature from the British
culture from William Shakespeare to Peter Shaffer. Each and every piece of literature was to
challenge our perceptions of life and dive into what the author was trying to reach across to its
audience. I did not simply push myself to gain intelligence and show off but it was to provide a
positive influence on my younger siblings.
As I am the oldest of 4 children I felt it was my responsibility to be the example of the
family as both of my parents never went to college. Throughout middle school and high school

my literate writing had been increasing exponentially not in terms of grammar or rules but with
depth and clarity. I began to share these experiences with my siblings to show them that it is
possible to write well developed papers whether it be research or fictional stories without
focusing on the grammatical parts of literature, to simply expand on your ideas and your own
ideologies. My brothers have sadly began to disappoint me as time progresses they are currently
in the eighth grade and are both having issues with courses such as pre-algebra and English. I
have no longer any idea what must be done to show my brothers there are ways to advance,
because any time I show them examples of my past successes they believe that I am showing off
and being cocky when in reality I am trying to push them to evolve and mature. High school is
where academics begin to come into play of what you are going to do in life as everything that
occurs in high school is recorded, whether you fail or succeed these grades/successes/failures all
come back in massive quantities during your senior year of high school. When I wrote my first
resume I had to envelope all of my past successes in a single page using my literary skills to not
only push my successes but also look towards the future. My brothers attended my graduation as
I spoke to close out the event as the graduation of the class of 2014. My speech was composed
partly of emotional thank you and appreciation to my family, instructors, and classmates, but
my main point I was pushing across was to avoid complacency. I quote We are graduating high
school seniors, but what does that really mean? Nothing. There are thousands of other students
graduating along us at this very moment. We as a generation have grown complacent in our
thoughts and ideologies by being treated as special and receiving rewards for participation.
What are you going to do to set yourself apart? I have always hated the word complacency. I
wonder why it is even in existence. The truth is that my generation has not created anything with
innovation albeit we are a younger generation we do not have the great thinkers of the past such

as Einstein, or Edison, or the Wright Brothers. We must build upon these influences of the past
by using their past literary remains of either mathematics or engineering or literature or any
subject to grow upon past innovations. Isaac Newton once said If I have seen further it is by
standing on the shoulders of a giant. I want for my younger siblings to use my shoulders albeit I
am not a giant, but for my siblings to take my previous successes and expand on them increasing
their intellectual abilities and gaining a greater sense of advancement. My academics have not
only pushed me to help my brothers but showed me the light of an ideology I believe to be of
great value in this age of complacency.
Buddhism was forged in the Eastern Culture during the 6th century B.C.E (before the
Common Era) with the birth of Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal who would later become the first
Buddha. A Buddha is an individual who has achieved Nirvana or complete peace with not only
oneself, but with their environment and the people around them.. I read his story during my
senior year of high school and it is of great importance to me because it highlights what I believe
now, to leave suffering behind and attain a grander objective of growth and inner tranquility. I
want to share my views with other individuals more specifically my brothers so that they can
learn everything I am doing is not only for myself but for them as well. I wish to dive deeper into
Buddhism and perhaps even travel to the mountains of Tibet during my lifetime and learn the
teachings of Buddhism to enhance my lifestyle and that of those around me.
My ultimatum in life has always been to help people. When I graduate from the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte my plan is to attain a career in Nuclear Fusion. Using
my skills to attain a greater energy source that could be the final solution to all fossil fuel needs
in the world at a lower cost with less waste. Provide energy to each and every individual in the
world using the skills I attain here at UNCC and sharing it with other individuals. To everyone

who has doubted me in the past there will be no resentment as I will achieve my goals through
my own passion. My parents have played a large role in my academic life by making it a priority,
my siblings are one of my greatest sources of motivation as I wish for them to grow, and
Buddhism has allowed me to find a tool that I can use to not only allow myself to grow but
others as well.