Cao 1

Auriah Cao

ENC2135

Whitney Gilchrist

Literacy Narrative

12 February 2017

The Year I Understood Writing

Going through highschool I used to always have this notion that I was an amazing writer.

I was one of those people who could get a topic and speed through the writing. Granted, I never

considered writing a passion; I viewed it as something I needed to do to get through my

academic career. I never understood why people held literature so dear to them.

As a guitarist, I expressed my emotions through the music I played and listened to.

Throughout my childhood, music was a huge influence over everything I did. I have been

playing guitar and bass for eight years; I had professional guitar lessons for five years and minor

music theory training for three. When I was a child, music was the only thing that ever made

sense to me and, it was my only escape from reality. I would spend late nights listening to my

favorite music and visualizing myself as this big rockstar performing in front of huge audiences.

It erased all the stresses Id experience throughout my childhood. It particularly helped in

middle school. Middle school was a time for me where all my insecurities stood out. You could

literally smell it on me! During my time in highschool I felt insignificant compared to my peers.

I looked different. All my classmates were caucasian and I was asian; I stuck out like a sore

thumb. People would constantly make racial remarks and express the differences between me

and my peers.
 Cao 2

Music also helped me find my passion for performing on stage. At this time I was still

new at guitar, but I began networking and performing with others who shared the same passion.

Music has helped me created countless relationships over the years. You could say it was my

communication outlet.

To me, the way artists would express the pitches and the arrangements of their notes

would evoke certain emotions and feelings. It was an entrance into the mind of another person.

Even though this person was a stranger, by listening to their music you would learn so much

more about them than simple words could express; you would be able to visualize what they see,

hear what they hear, and feel what they feel. It was as if you were being born another person, and

for a brief moment you would be able to understand a perspective that would never be accepted

in your own life time. One song in particular that made me feel this way was Luv sic pt 6 by

Nujabes & Shing02. It is a hip-hop piece, with an elegant acoustic guitar melody, simple drum

beat, and beautifully crafted lyrics that help visualize a departing message from one friend to

another.

It was hard for me to evoke the same passions for writing that I had in music. Other

lovers of literature would describe the same feelings to me about reading and writing. My aunt

was a book junkie and had shelves filled with books. I remember asking her why she loved

reading so much, even though there werent any pictures. She said to me,

You imagine the pictures. You get to create your own world through the words of

another person.

I guess I really couldnt get into reading because it involved using your mind in a

creative way to understand what the writer feels. In music there is audio blasting in your ear.
 Cao 3

Each sound has a different tone and texture. Sure certain writings have visuals, but sometimes

they dont do the writing justice when trying to portray messages. Sometimes what the writer is

trying to portray goes beyond words. This is what made writing so distant from me. I always

believed the point of expressing the arts was to make it easy for the audience to understand. I

never enjoyed the fact that I had to dig through a certain line of an essay or story to find the

reference or message. I was very lazy. I didnt like the fact that the main point of a piece was

hidden. I understand music sometimes does the same thing ,but I never needed the in depth

message of the lyrics to enjoy the song. Without understanding the hidden message within a

story, the plot becomes very difficult to comprehend.

Before my junior year, every paper I wrote would return to me with little to no red ink;

normally I would make an A on every essay I ever wrote. I would get praise from my teachers

as well as my peers, who would ask for advice. During my sophomore year, students would

consistently try to pay me to do their work. I remember one kid said,

We basically write the same way. You wont get caught. I replied, If we right the

same, why did you get a C then? Listen man this is like NSYNC. Im JT and youre the other

members no one know cares about. Im not gonna let you ruin my academic career. You could

say I had an ego close to the size of Kanyes.

I had become so blinded by my own arrogance that I had cut out all negative criticism

directed toward my writing. The person who critiqued me the most was my mother. She has

more experience in writing then I could ever have. She received her doctorate in education and

has written countless essay and research papers over the years. I remember asking her to check

my writings for content and grammar. I remember my ego used to get so hurt I eventually just
 Cao 4

asked her to check for grammar. She would often tell me KISS. It stood for keep it simple

stupid. When I entered my junior year I eventually regret refusing my mothers advice, even

though its always said that your mothers always right.

The teacher who finally brought me back to reality and gave me a dose of what the real

world had to offer was my AP english teacher, Gloria McLeod. Unlike any teacher I have ever

met, she lived and breathed reading and writing. At first I was anxious, but then I told myself

ive been successful in writing many times. I made a C on my first paper and then a D on my

second paper. When I asked what I could do to improve, she told me the honest truth. I relied to

much on persuasion and that I would over complicate sentences that were plain and simple. She

told me to try and use other methods to get my message across. She said I couldnt build up my

credibility without facts. She gave me this advice while I was writing an argumentative essay on

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The prompt given was

what is the meaning of this story. I told her isnt this topic very vague? How will I get

evidence to support my argument? I might as well use persuasion since it is an opinion paper.

She gave me one reply that changed my perspective on writing. She said Your opinion is

wrong if you dont have evidence backing it up. If you want to build credibility, look at other

great writers for influence and interpret their perspectives.

After that conversation, I realized the correlation between music and literature. To

become a great musician or writer, you must have influences. To better yourself as a writer, you

must pay homage to these artists by analyzing their methods and trying to mimic them until you

invent something of your own. I realized that mustve been the reason why my mother would

force me to read. She wanted me to see the World from another point of view and then create my
 Cao 5

own opinions. From what I have seen over my life-time, the human mind and personality are all

based on influence. Everyone is born with a clean slate. No child is born a Mark Twain or J.K

Rowlings. If that were the case wed all be master writers capable of producing unique pieces of

literature. But, at the same time, we would not be able to infuse our creativity with someone

elses rendering us all the same. To be honest people follow various artists or musicians because

they each somewhat sound similar. But I digress.

We are not original. We steal ideas from people we aspire to be, but at the same time we

create something new. This can be seen by the way we categorize music and literature; we

categorize them through genres. Each genre has a particular tone and certain tendencies the

consistently arise. Its like science; matter is neither created nor destroyed. It only changes form.

The same goes for writing; we take what we learn and ,from it, create a fusion. This is what

breeds new ideas.

After getting through AP English, I began applying what I learned from Mrs. McLeod to

my writing. I consistently read other authors and compared and analyzed their styles. I would

also constantly search for criticism; I wanted to make myself better and the only way I could

avoid bias is to ask others for help. I know it is not good to force yourself to like something, but I

realized through this process, that the more I practiced writing and the better I got at it, and the

more I enjoyed it. After a while theacademic burden became a gift that I enjoyed.

My writing style improved in a sense that I relied more on facts, credibility, emotion, and

various writing tactics that I picked up from other authors. Before I understood writing, I would

write using circular reasonings and common sense statements; I would then try to sprinkle

elegant wording to finesse my way through my essays. I would seamlessly over complicate the
 Cao 6

message. I tried so hard to make them seem complex. I now realize that I should follow my own

style to get my message across. Writing doesnt need to be complicated; it just needs to be able

to convey a message to the reader that expresses your thoughts and emotions.