Personal Narrative: My Literacy In High School

Literacy is defined as the act of reading and writing; both are things that I have struggled with my entire life. Being born in a Mexican household, my first language was Spanish. I could fluently read, write, and speak Spanish, but in first grade everything changed. From having classes in Spanish, I went to having classes in English. Nobody would speak to me in Spanish, read to me in Spanish, or write to me in Spanish. I was living a nightmare. I remember the first week of school being really fun! I had an interpreter for every class, I made friends with this boy named Alex, who also only spoke Spanish, and my mom would eat lunch with me every single day. However as time passed my teacher, Mrs. Bogan, decided it'd be better if I didn't have

Bogan came to where I was, hugged me, and asked me what was wrong. I responded in Spanish and recited what I had been told by my ex-tutor, Mrs. Salinas, “Mrs. Bogan, I just can’t do it. I am not intelligent. I am not capable of learning. I will never be anyone in America.” I cried and cried as Mrs. Bogan cradled me in her arms, after I calmed down a little she asked where I had gotten that ridiculous idea, and it was at that moment that she finally understood. I told her that before I came to George Evans Elementary, I went to Ethel McKnight Elementary. At Ethel McKnight, the teachers and tutors had given up on me. They said I was an idiot who would never learn to read, write, or speak English. I told her that my family didn’t think I was smart enough; they would constantly say school just wasn't my thing. I told her that those thoughts had become real to me. I said, “Mrs. Bogan, they are right, every statement that my teachers, tutors, and family said are true. I simply don’t have the capacity to learn.” However, to my surprise, Mrs. Bogan responded with words of encouragement. She simply smiled and said, "Maribel you can't let other people write your future, it's yours. The moment you let other people take a hold of your pencil, you lose everything that could've been yours." When I heard these words I pulled back from possibly the most amazing hug to thank her for believing in me. She

I was extra early to class, at lunch I would tell everyone about the books I was reading, and then during recess I would sit and write everything I saw. By the end of the year, I was reading, speaking, and writing English, and I was only getting better. In the summer, I practiced reading, speaking and writing in fear that I’d fall behind, but to my surprise, I worked so hard, I was asked to skip the second grade. My principle told me that my reading and writing levels were so high, I could be taking third-grade classes, but I decided not to. I decided to stay in second grade and work even harder so I could keep improving and I definitely have, but aside from helping me get better at writing, Mrs. Bogan has really influenced what I