College is a time of growth, and with every semester, I find myself learning lessons I didn’t even realize needed to be learned. There is so much more to college than the classes you take. Not only does college help you grow academically and professionally, but also as an individual. That, in my opinion, is a beautiful thing. Here’s what I have learned this semester.
My journey started with the Literacy Narrative. In this essay I had to talk about how reading, writing and language in general affected my life. At first I had to think about what I wanted to write. I didn’t want it to sound like every other generic stuff you hear. Which I eventually learned that it doesn’t matter what you write about. The point of the matter is to share YOUR experience and how you got introduced to writing/reading. Here is my final draft of the Literacy Narrative
Literacy Narrative :
When I think about how reading, writing and language in general affected my life, There are so many memories that come to mind like my first time reading the English language or first time hearing it on Television or how I started to actually learn the language. But none of those memories compare to my transition from speaking Bengali to English completely after coming to America. I came to America in the year 2017 , but before that I used to watch a lot of TV series and Hollywood movies. I guess, because of that I learned how to speak proper English. Back in my country, in Bangladesh, English is considered as a mandatory second language to learn. Much like Spanish or French in America. So I had to take English and learned the basics and grammar from there. The fact of English not being my first language didn’t bother me until I came to America. Soon after I was admitted to a local High School as a Junior . I realized that I’m not able to communicate thoroughly with my classmates and even if I manage to talk to them, there’s a feeling I get that I am not enjoying this conversation as much as I would if I spoke Bengali. Furthermore, the class atmosphere was also different than I was used to, for me it was a bit too noisy and I felt like i didn’t really belong there. At one point, I felt like quitting school and going back to where I came from. But even after those hardships, the school thought that my English was good enough to not get me into a special course for learning English. One day, I was called in to talk to the guidance counselor where she pointed out that I can read and write perfectly. She also mentions how my grammar and spelling are on point as well. After I mentioned that I was having a hard time talking to other students, she gave me a tip. She said to practice talking to them slowly but clearly. So I took the advice and started to practice my dialect. After a few months, I started to notice that the nervousness I used to feel just went away and that they are unbothered by the way I speak. Soon, I started to read aloud with my classmates. It was a motivation to speak, to communicate, that push, that led me to pay attention to my surroundings and to my readings.
As for my writing, when I was younger, I would notice the many pages of old, crusty books that smelled like dust when opened. After noticing the small sized font, I would just put it back. A book that is very long with long words and has many interpretations that makes it hard to understand? No, thank you. In high school though, you were forced to read these very long classic books with many interpretations. In my Junior year, D racula by Bram Stoker was assigned to us. When I was getting ready to read the first chapter, I had my computer by my side on a sparknotes page. That was me preparing for the worst. Once I read the first page, I realized “Hey, I know these words. I can read this clearly.” After that, reading and annotating became smooth sailing. D racula became one of my favorite books because it was awesome and a great page turner. I no longer dread the classics; well, except for Moby Dick.
Throughout my life, English has served as my outlet. I have grown with it and I don’t think I would be who I am today without it in my life. From my different class atmosphere, gradual love for reading and classic books, my literacy journey has shaped me into the person I am today. In all honesty, English reading, writing and the entire language itself is an amazing experience.
