My journey with reading and writing hasn’t always been an easy one. Instead, it’s been filled with challenges, failures and successes. Every experience I’ve had with reading has contributed to my own growth. Writing grew into my own style of self-presentation as I got older, but reading continued to be a crucial part of my life. I liked to write short stories about heroism and mythical creatures in my notebooks in elementary school. I was able to jot down ideas that I found challenging to express out loud. My relationship with literacy was not always smooth because I had a teacher in middle school who was very critical of my writing abilities. I started to question myself and was quite hesitant to write because I was afraid that it wouldn’t be “good enough.”
I struggled with this self-doubt until high school, where I read Harper Lee’s book, “To Kill a Mockingbird” which altered my perspective. I was influenced by the novel’s idea of justice, morality, and sympathy, particularly, I was driven by Scout Finch’s fearless inquiry and Atticus Finch’s commitment to doing the right thing. I began to see that writing was about revealing oneself, finding one’s voice and using it to have an impact, not being perfect. This understanding inspired me to start writing once again, however this time it would be with assurance and purpose. In addition, reading this book helped me understand how significant perspective is. In the past, I would read novels briefly, taking in the plot without giving the author’s message another thought. However, Harper Lee’s book led me to dig deeper into the morals and racism that underlie the story as well as the motivations of the characters. This change in my reading habits helped me engage with literature more thoroughly and carefully, which helped the way I understood things and my ability to express myself in writing.
Though not always in a positive way, standardized testing also had a huge impact on my literary journey. Reading and writing felt more like a chore than a joy because of the pressure to do well on timed essays in school and reading comprehension areas. I remember sitting in a quiet classroom, looking at a packet given by the teacher that included multiple choice questions that looked to have more than one correct answer, I struggled to distinguish the difference between the answer choices. I often felt that the limiting structure of these tests limited my ability to be creative and the time limits caused me to doubt myself. But as time went on, I realized how to see these challenges as a chance to improve my skills. I started to view writing prompts as problems that need to be overcome. I focused on organizing my writing neatly so that, in the time provided, my main points were understandable and well supported. I acknowledged the need to be able to change my writing to fit different expectations, even if I still favored creative and personal writing. Moreover, the experiences of taking standardized tests taught me resilience. Sometimes, I got scores that were lower than I expected, but I didn’t let that stop me but instead I took it as an opportunity to grow. I made my life easier by creating reading comprehension techniques, actually took the teachers feedback and did timed writing in my free time. I became a more confident and versatile writer as a result, smoothly transitioning between academic and creative writing.
Today, my life is still greatly impacted by literacy. I understand the power of words, whether that be when I’m writing academic essays, writing a journal, or reading books that make me rethink my beliefs. They can connect, inspire, provide and educate. I am thrilled for the new stories, perspectives, and lessons that literacy will continue to teach to my life, and my journey with reading and writing is far from over.
