Shaping Myself Through Reading And Writing

In all honesty, I don't remember a lot about becoming literate. I didn't have a special moment or time when I knew that reading or writing going to take me somewhere. According to my mom she started to read to me when I was one, so there wasn't anything that could've excelled me much farther before going into kindergarten. One of the requirements in elementary school was to read every night which I believe was an important factor of me improving my literacy. Reading and writing used to me excite me because I would immerse myself into a book or write a whole new universe on a page. I made reading and writing something personal to me. I now realize that every book and every piece of writing can be worthwhile in one way or another.

My dad started reading to me when I was around the age of four or five. I was specifically interested in the book How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?. My dad read that to me probably every night for two months, until I could “read” it back to him. The reason “read” is in quotations is because I really only memorized the book and the order he would say the words, but looking back now, I think I give a lot of credit for that time in helping me stay ahead in my reading classes. Being able to recognize what certain words looked like helped me make new words and build sentences a little quicker than most kids my age.

Carina Storrs, CNN article “This is your child’s brain on reading”, she discusses the various research studies focusing on early brain development in children who are introduced to literacy at early stages of life. The studies show how the brains activity increases with children as young as newborn. Studies have been performed by many different researchers. Ms. Storrs has quoted several of those researchers in her article with scientific proof of the advantages in a child’s behavior and academic performance by reading to younger children. Various studies have been conducted all over the country with some of the same results.

My mother taught me how to read at a young age. She read to me before I could read which helped me learn new words and develop a basic understanding of literature at an early age. When it came time for me to attend elementary school, I remember heading to the library quite often. Books were organized based on what was thought to be the appropriate reading material for that grade level. I often found myself wandering down the isles with the older kids. I’m so grateful my mother encouraged reading as much as she did. If she hadn’t, it’s very possible I could have struggled with reading. If this were true, I wouldn’t have learned as much as I did, or had the desire to read, which is very important in order to become as advanced in literature as possible.

Learning to read is a valuable and important skill that children acquire from a very early age. Children gain an understanding of the different sounds in our spoken language from a wide range of different experiences and social interaction with their environment. For example, singing and saying rhymes, sharing books, making and listening to music, pretend play, listening to adults and joining in conversations etc ect. as mentioned by Vygotsky (1978)

Reading is something that is taught to everyone in their early childhood, the time I learned to read I was very fond of books. I loved to read novels to myself and to read them out loud to my sister. I like reading action, thriller, historical fiction, and mystery. During my early childhood we would have challenges of reading such as wrapped up and reading, golden dragon. These were reading challenges for students to read 20-25 specific grade novels during the school year and at the end you got a party if you read at least 5-10. I used to love reading and at that time I would read at least 20 books because I wanted to go to the party and win something with the lottery tickets I got. My childhood was fulI of reading, even if I read because I was greedy and I read because of the party, it still improved my reading level. As I grew and grew my reading

If I could describe my relationship with reading and writing it would most likely have to be, improving. Of course I would assume the same happens to all students that their reading and writing skills improve as they continue with their education. For me reading has been a passion, so my reading skills are pretty advanced and I can say I am able to read well. In my case, being a child of two Hispanic parents, I do have a slight accent that can get in the way and make my reading a bit rough. Usually it is not so bad, only on certain words that either I do not know how to properly pronounce or certain letters that my accent acts as a physical barrier where I have to sound it out more carefully or work around my accent. While that is the #1 major setback I have during reading. Even with that setback I can still say that I am confident in my reading skills, reading at a well speed, improving, reading various books all that combined allows to be able to read almost anything. What I do enjoy about reading is that I see it being able to bring myself into that world that the author is writing about or to envision the story they’re telling as a movie. I like the idea of just sitting back or laying down with a good book for hours and getting deep into whatever I am reading. Personally once I pick up a good book it is usually hard for me to put it down without the paranoia of not knowing how it ends will eat me up and I usually finish a book within a few days.

I am looking for a position that is well suited to my academic degree and career goal. My current position has no room for advancement. Therefore, I prefer a position that has room for advancement. In the next 3-5 years I should have gained sufficient skills and knowledge in conducting research.

In The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway almost every character seems dissatisfied with their life, thinking that they aren’t living their it to the fullest. Most people during this time tried to escape the reality that a war had just occurred by doing things like drinking or traveling. Although it might have seemed like they were having fun, they were actually feeling like they were throwing their life away. The audience can see an example of this in chapter II when Cohn says to Jake, “I can’t stand it to think my life is going so fast and I’m not really living it” (18.) Jake replies “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters” (18.) This interaction shows how Cohn feels like he is wasting his life away and Jake agrees

My childhood was filled with literacy and I didn’t even know it. When I was 6 years old I read books like The Cat in The Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? All of which were good books while I was growing up. These books taught me a lot when I was younger and I didn’t even realize it. I would enjoy reading them many times,as I grew older I got into heavier books. My literacy improved a lot throughout my childhood.

There are many benefits in reading aloud to children not only an enhancement of literary skills but also increase in the ability to communicate with teachers and parents. Children also develop memory skills, imagination and creativity (Family Literacy, 2002).

Reading to a child has a tremendous impact on their language development. The more a child is read to the more connections are made in the brain. Rereading the same book helps the child make connections between the way the words look and sound.

Ernestine Walls Benedict said, “Reading empowers children by providing a virtual passport to explore the world. They can learn about places, people and things very different from their own experiences, as well as see themselves reflected in other children’s lives.” Being able to read is not only important but it is critical for a person to succeed

Reading helps in mental development and is known to stimulate the muscles of the eyes and it is also an activity that involves greater levels of concentration and adds to the conversational skills of the reader.

The Glass Menagerie was a well written novel that I enjoyed because of all the different aspects of the characters lives and views of things. For example Laura an older single mother who wants the best for her two grown children Laura who is 23 years old and Tom who is the older brother. There father Mr. Wingfield abandoned them for long distance traveling and never came back so Laura is taking care of them on her own. Her daughter Laura is shy and quiet girl who has a crippled leg and cannot work because of it and her oldest son Tom is just like his father and wants to get out of Chicago and travel but he works for a factory to provide for his family. So that is the situation in the novel. The novel had little hints now and then about what was going to happen like from the characters talking,the subtitles, and the dramatic music that played throughout the play, so it was really easy to understand.