Literacy Autobiography
Sparkling fairies, glistening mermaids, and Greek myths filled my childhood to the brim with whimsy and delight. Looking back on those days, I’m filled with nostalgia and joy. Little did I know how reading and telling stories would affect the rest of my life thereafter and shape who I wanted to be. Isn’t it funny how that all works?
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I was born 3 months premature in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For the first couple years of my life, my parents would take me in to the doctor where I’d get tested for various cognitive issues the doctors would ensure the progress of my development. I would stack blocks, point at items and give their name, and tell stories to the medical professionals. This helped them gauge how quickly I was developing and if I had any deficits. I ended up with no developmental issues due to the rather unusual circumstances of my birth, but these check-ups involved me telling stories and expanding my vocabulary. I can honestly say that it is rather unclear how much of an affect this had on my literacy to this point, but it is worth noting, because it was a very big part of my learning to talk which as where literacy truly begins.
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When I was five years old, my family moved to Bismarck, North Dakota for my father’s job. I went to elementary school at a small private school in town called Cathedral. I was raised in a household where reading and making up stories was not only accepted but encouraged. My dad was an English major in college and really loves to read. He would make up stories with my sister and I starring as the main characters and entice us to follow suit. As a young child, I could often be found, book in hand, making up some sort of silly story to go along with the pictures. My dad read to my sister and I every single night before bed until I was about 12 years old, so even if I wasn’t reading anything on my own, I was always engaged in some in the mental growth associated with it. In kindergarten, I was a surprisingly difficult learner. Reading was the most difficult subject for me and I struggled immensely with it. I spent a great deal of time with my parents each night trying to work my way through the reading assignments, but not quite excelling in it. Personally, I just believe that this was due to my relatively short attention span, because shortly thereafter I regained my fascination with reading.
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All through grade school I had amazing teachers who taught us students how to read, write, build story lines, and speak/read aloud. My reading teacher in first through third grade created story-boards where students could create pictures from scraps of paper, depicting a kind of excited jumble of images that all meshed into a beautiful story. This was something I thoroughly enjoyed as a kid and certainly contributed to my love of reading today. I easily got lost in my own imagination, drawing up serene Christmas scenes filled with sparkling snow and the smell of sugar cookies and fir trees in the air in the middle of a boiling hot day in July. In third grade I read through the entire class spelling book and wrote short stories corresponding with each of the hundreds of words—for fun! In fourth grade, I became known for always having a book in my backpack. But by fifth grade, I had found where my passion truly lies, public speaking. I had always loved reading out loud, but that year I got a role in a school news show that required me to write my own script and perform it in front of the class. I made myself into a goofy character that made everyone laugh and I couldn’t get enough. In sixth grade I was known for reading multiple books at a time, especially scary books or spooky folk lore. I played school with my younger siblings and friends often and read books to my “class.” Little did I know at the time, but this activity was yet another branch on the tree of oration.
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I went through middle-school reading ahead in English class and always raising my hand. I read constantly in my free time and loved every minute of it. That was during the time period where there were many fad young adult books that had just come out, such as, the Divergent series, The Hunger Games books, and Harry Potter regained some fame. In high school, I got involved in speech and drama and my love of reading and public speaking further progressed. I competed at every speech tournament possible and participated in every event. I helped mentor new students and attended many extra practices. My favorite event is called EPR or Extemporaneous Programmed Reading which involves a long story (a comedy, serious, or poetic piece) that I must cut to fit into an eight-minute speaking time. I also had to write and memorize an introduction to go along with it. I also participated in Storytelling, Serious prose, Poetry, Humorous and Dramatic duos, and Dramatic speech. This helped keep my skills sharp in reading and writing. I still love reading, but I don’t read very much anymore besides for my classes. I want to grow in my literacy and begin reading outside of class more often.
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I am currently attending North Dakota State University. I am a freshman at the institution and am currently an English major prior to Law School. Despite the fact that my childhood was full of fairies, mermaids, and gnomes, I have found that my heart lies in critical thinking. The books we have read in class, such as The Cartographer of No Man's Land and The Origin of Others are interesting, but not my favorite! Law school seems like a very viable choice after I get my Bachelor’s and I cannot wait to see where these next four years take me!