Throughout my years of education, there have been many people who have influenced my development as a reader and writer. Whether it was a teacher or my parents they all pushed me so that I could become a successful attribute to society. Without these individuals, I wouldn’t have become literate. Thanks to their guidance I became a better reader and writer, which has allowed me to become more versatile in and out of school.
One person who ultimately influenced me was a reading and writing coach I had in first grade. I met with her once a week to go over reading assignments. We would meet and spend hours reading new books every day. She motivated my classmates and I by giving us candy every time we read a book well. I used to struggle immensely
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She often would have me do impromptu spelling tests. She would read me off various words and give the definition and I would have spell it out. If I got a word wrong she would put it back in the pile and we would continue until I got it right. My mom also helped me with all of my papers and would proof read and correct any grammar errors. She then would explain to me what I needed to change and why. My mom’s also a massive bookworm. Since I was little she was always encouraging me to read higher level books. Thanks to her constant encouragement I was able to read at a high school level in about fifth grade. This allowed me to move up to the advanced reading group in my class. Due to this I gained a greater appreciation for reading. My dad was also a massive influence on my development in reading and writing. When I was younger I struggled immensely with reading and not only did my reading coach help me, my dad did as well. He would sit at the kitchen table with me for hours helping me sound out words. He would help me get through my daily reading assignments and often help me practice using more challenging texts. Not only did he help me with reading, he also helped me with writing. Whenever my mom would be busy working he would help me with writings. I often would go to him and read my writing out loud and he would give me feedback on how it sounded or what I needed to change. Without the help, I received from my parents I wouldn’t be at the level of reading and writing that I’m
My Growth as a Writer Most of us write in some form every day, so you would expect that most of us would be well practiced and pretty good at writing. I read and write all the time; I have taken several college courses and nearly all of them require writing in some form. However, before taking this class, not only was I not a good writer, I knew I wasn’t a good writer. Now I am not saying that I am ready to write my first novel, but I am certainly more confident in turning in my college papers. The content of this course and the style of teaching was incredibly beneficial to me.
In my past writing assignments it seemed to be that we were learning everything step by step, where as in college more is expected from me as a writer. As a high school student it was quite easy to push everything off till the last moment. Those two o'clock nights were very frequent when a six-page research paper was due the next day. As a college student the requirements are more challenging and not something that can be pushed back till the very last second. It seems strange to me that starting earlier for a college paper and working twice as hard on it, receiving a lower grade on it than I would have in high school is upsetting to think about, but is so true. When coming into the semester I was unaware of what was expected from me, but as the semester progressed I was able to get a better understanding of the course and how to look critically at myself as a writer. I know that these are qualities that I will use for many years to come.
Over the course of the second semester of my freshman campaign at Seton Hall my overall skills as a writer have been improved and more refined. The biggest difference I saw in my work since I arrived here was the maturity of my writing and the improved research and analysis skills that I first developed in high school. But as I look back on my work and myself as a writer I believe that the areas where I have grown the most is my creativity and my ability to use that creative thinking to formulate a unique thesis statement about a characters involvement in a story. I realized my creativity as a writer during the assignment where we had to choose a song and poem that shared the same “image” and then write about that image. I chose the song “100 Years” by Five for Fighting and the poem “What Happened to the Happy Days?” by Angie Flores. The image that they created was “of a person sitting and thinking back on how fast life has gone by. A daydream about going back to a time where everything was simple and there was nothing to truly worry about, a time where life was how life should be,” (Leach). I creatively thought about how these 2 lyrical pieces connected as well as their differences. I realized that the two pieces portrayed that image but in opposite ways, which is something I wouldn’t have initially realized if I didn’t spend time trying to find a unique connection of image between the two pieces. Through spending time trying to uniquely and creatively find ways to write about things I was able to complete a prompt that I thought was one of the most challenging I’ve ever had to write about. My task for the Othello research paper was to write about and show how Desdemona’s story and role in other character’s stories was the most p...
Writing has incessantly been a struggle throughout my short life. Within writing, everyone possesses the entirety of tools needed to produce greatness, but many lack in the manufacturing of the product. You may have the greatest ideas for novels and short stories, though be unable to truly express yourself within the confines of only words. This precise issue faces me on a daily basis. All these exceptional visions spinning in my mind, yet I have not been able to master the art of putting these visions onto paper. However, I do admit I have grown as a writer over this single semester, and have major goals set for myself, not only as a writer but also in my career field.
My teacher was very helpful with teaching me how to read and so was my brother Treavon. The way that my brother Treavon was a big and helpful influence in the literacy part of my life is he would read to me and then I would try to read back to him. Eventually all of the help that I had gotten with my reading
While my father was a student in school, he was never the student who put forth his best effort, made good grades, or received many awards. However, when he looks back on that time in his life, my father always expresses that he wishes he would had tried harder in school. While he cannot change the past, he does try to make up for his mistakes and do everything in his power to help me be a successful student. My father is always willing to help me with projects and homework.
She paid attention to us she played with us. She taught us right from wrong, she loved us as her own. She would read books to us and one time we had a food fight in the kitchen so it was so fun. One time we painted my dad’s nails and he went to work like that it was pretty funny.
I am not, by any means, a Shakespeare, Stephen King, or John Grisham. It would take enormous amounts of time, practice, and effort to be considered a long shot at a Pulitzer Prize. Yet, I intend to progress my writing by setting more achievable goals, building on new ideas, and developing new skills. Also, I will use the advice of instructors and peers, and draw from previous writing experiences to mold this and future writing experiences.
Throughout my life, reading and writing were a positive thing because of the support from the people around. I was never really the confident or extroverted type of person back in the day. This then caused me to be anxious when I read or be doubtful of what I wrote. I can still remember breaking balls of sweats and tensing up whenever I had to read something aloud in elementary. It was a pretty big social problem for me but I can also recall many times where I was laughing and having fun while doing something with reading or writing with my mother. Although there have been many things that affected me so far in my literary journey, my mother has been the most supportive and impactful person to me by reading short stories, going to the library, and giving me writing prompts. One of the activities I liked to do before I fell asleep was to read.
She also was on the school board at my grade school, was politically active, and was active in our church. Seeing her stand up to error in public situations gave me the strength to do the same. Sadly, I had to fight error in my high school history class. I disputed my religion teacher's position concerning the civil rights movement (just one of many discussions we had that year). But without Mom's example, I would have been silent like the other kids.
As far as my 18 year old mind can remember the most influential sponsor in my literary development was school. Sure, my parents also influenced what I read and even taught me how to read, but school was what developed my creative literary ability. Reading is the gateway to becoming a good writer, and regardless of what the student reads, or the topic of interest, a child can apply it to their writing. The sponsor that has the most influence on my literary ability is school.
My mother was the one who always influenced both my sister and me when it came to reading and learning as much as we could. Family time consisted of every afternoon gathering together in my mom’s bedroom lying on the bed reading a story. A new story started by my mom reading it to us. After a few times of hearing the story, I would then read the story to my mother and sister.
I am very grateful that she helped me how to ride a bike. My first bike was a blue Schwin. I loved that bike from the time it had training wheels to the time I got a new one. We started with the bike in the bike yard and mom would run either beside or behind me holding on and helping me keep my balance. When she let go I would fall and gets all kind of bruises then she would be mad that she let and I got hurt because of it. I eventually got better and we moved out to the street in front of the house, I loved how it felt to ride the bike on the pavement.
Reading has been a part of my life from the second I was born. All throughout my childhood, my parents read to me, and I loved it. I grew up going to the library and being read to constantly. Especially in the years before Kindergarten, reading was my favorite thing to do. I grew up loving fairy tales and thriving on the knowledge that I could have any book I wanted, to be read to me that night. Having no siblings, my only examples were my parents, and they read constantly. Without a family that supported my love of reading throughout my childhood, I wouldn’t appreciate it nearly as much as I have and do now.
Even at the age of 17, many adults have praised me for being a well-rounded, responsible, and mature young adult. Though I am often complimented for my character, I have my mother to thank. She is a big part of the reason why I am the person I am today. From academic awards to character recognitions, my mother has helped me reach all of those accomplishments. From a young child to a young adult, my mother has taught me to be obedient, respectful, and nice. She has ensured that I keep my conduct in check and my grades up to par.