Literacy Autobiography

My Style, My Motivation

I have come to realize that my favorite style of writing is journals. I feel that I prefer it over other forms of writing because it comes naturally. Free writing in journals helps me to get all of my thoughts out on paper with no pressure to write in a specific format. With other types of writing, such as research papers, there are certain guidelines and rules to follow. Although I tend to dislike too many restrictions on writing, I believe it is necessary to speak clearly and always use correct grammar and punctuation. Journal writing is also a very helpful way for me to plan out an essay and can even pose as a rough draft.

The most difficult writing for me is fiction. I find it incredibly hard to write about something that is not real. I do view myself as a strong writer, but the imagination aspect of fiction writing does not come as easy. On the contrary, writing nonfiction is pretty easy for me. I am much more comfortable writing about real experiences and retelling stories that have actually occurred. This has not always been the case. During elementary school, I absolutely loved to read and write fiction stories. I would look forward to writing time in class so that I could write endless pages on a fairytale that took me less than a minute to come up with. My eagerness for writing fiction ceased as I entered middle school. I began to realize that there was not much room in the curriculum for creative writing. Writing became much more structured and left nothing to the imagination.

Although many may draw a blank, I thoroughly remember learning to read and write. My first recollection of learning to write was prior to attending kindergarten. Most would agree that having an older sibling greatly encourages one’s enthusiasm to read and write. This certainly applied to me. I recall watching my brother doing his homework and reading books that he had taken home from his school library. My mother began to notice my interest in reading and bought me a children’s book entitled “Happy Birthday Boots.” It is definitely possible that most of the words and phrases in the book I had memorized, but nevertheless, it helped me to figure out what combinations of letters made what sounds. Knowing that I had some inkling of reading ability, all I wanted to do was read more and I continued to aspire to reach my brother’s reading level. We were in constant competition, but the fact that he was frustrated I could read at such an early age gave me more confidence, for I knew I was ahead of the game.

Having confidence is vital to be a good writer. The more confidence one has the more encouraged they will be to write and actually put effort into what they are writing about. This theory is actually what encouraged me. In eighth grade I had a teacher, Ms. Coleman, who always told me I was a strong writer and frequently used my pieces as an example for the class. This gave me a lot of confidence as a writer and made me actually like to write, while other students continued to groan and procrastinate with every assignment we were given.

My experience in eighth grade truly encouraged me to write more in order to constantly improve my skills, although as I got older, more and more structure was put into the curriculum and I began to lose interest. I can recall specifically in ninth grade when I switched into a private school, there were much more research papers assigned than I had ever written. I knew I would be able to easily write a paper in one night, but I was not as motivated to do so and therefore I would hand all my assignments in days, sometimes even weeks, later. My friends did not understand how I could hand in assignments so late, yet still receive such a high grade. At this point, it was clear I was much more of an advanced writer than I had even thought.

This brings me to my next dose of confidence; college. Papers became even more frequently assigned as I entered college. I realized my typical homework assignments had turned into anywhere from a one page paper to a fifteen page paper, at least twice a week. Although this may seem to be negative, it made it much easier for me to get into the routine of writing my papers on time. It was not until my foundations professor brought it to my attention, that I realized I was an advanced writer in high school, as well as college. He had sent me an email to see him after class, and as most would suspect, I thought I was in trouble. Despite my fear, I approached him after class. He asked for my permission to submit me to the Peer Tutoring in Writing course.

I was more than ecstatic to hear one of my college professors refer to me as a highly developed writer. Being recognized in this manner made me actually want to write more, which I was definitely not used to. For this very reason, I took him up on the offer, though it did take much considering. I constantly thought about all the papers I would probably have to write, which I usually dread. This brought me back to the thought that I had prior; the more I write, the easier it becomes. This simple realization was the determining factor in my agreement to join the Peer Tutoring in Writing class.

Although my increasing confidence had encouraged me to desire writing more than I had in the past, I cannot say the same for reading. When I finally finish a piece after what seems to consist of endless planning, outlining, writing, and revising, I feel accomplished, proud, and usually astonished at how well I was able to write. This particular part of writing, the final product, is what usually inspires me to want to write. With reading, I find no sense of accomplishment, and most of the time, I get highly intimidated by thick books and miniscule font. I feel as if it would be much more enjoyable for me to watch a movie that derived from a book, rather than read it all over a large time span.

I honestly would love to have the passion for reading that my peers have, and that I once had. I recall it being exciting to buy a new book and the constant anticipation for some free time to just lie down and read. Anytime I was considering putting down the book for a little, I could not do it. It was impossible for me to stop reading, while still wondering what was going to happen next. For this very reason, I found myself finishing books within the first day or two that I had begun reading it. This certainly does not pertain to my reading today, nor does it express my feelings towards reading presently.

I am not too sure as to how I can enjoy writing, yet dread reading. One possible reason could be that readings I had always been assigned in school never captured my interest and totally turned me off to reading altogether. Also possible, I could have simply grown out of my reading stage and lost interest. I truly believe that what has most impacted my lack of interest in reading is all of the novels, short stories, poems, and plays I was forced to read, mainly throughout middle school and high school. I find myself, most of the time, reading pieces without actually grasping what I am reading and merely skimming the pages.

The time in my life that I can remember fully enjoying both reading and writing occurred in fifth grade. I can distinctly remember having time set aside every day for either free reading or writing. At this point, I think I was a little more interested in reading than I was writing, surprisingly. As always, I was assigned to read a certain number of books every year. In fifth grade, my teacher would put a sticker on a poster board next to our name every time we completed another book.
I always tried to finish my books in the shortest amount of time possible in order to see a long line of stickers lined up next to my name. It instilled a sense of accomplishment in me, which encouraged me to read more. The stories I read would also give me great ideas for when my class and I had writing time. I feel this grade very much revolved around academics, creativity, and imagination, which I feel should occur in the higher level grades as well. For this very reason, I believe fifth grade was one of my favorite years of school and one that helped me develop more of a yearning to reading and write.

As one can conclude from the previous paragraphs, I have definitely changed as a student. I believe the school curriculum has altered my interest in both reading and writing, with the outcome being both positive and negative. I feel that the constant approval and positive feedback I have always received from my teachers on my writing has encouraged me to write more. On the contrary, all of the readings I was forced to read throughout my years of middle school and high school have turned me off to reading and made it more of a job than a hobby for me. Although it seems as if I completely hate to read, I do believe that if I ever have free time and no schoolwork to worry about, I may be able to begin reading again and develop the liking for it that I once had.

What I regret most about my educational experience is that I never tried to continue reading books that I actually enjoyed on my own time, even though I was somewhat turned off by it as a result of school. I feel this would have made me appreciate reading today and not dread having to read something as minimal as a short story. Even though I may not be passionate about reading, I do feel that I still am capable of still having strong writing skills and believe it will benefit me in the future, in whatever type of writing is entailed, whether it is for school, an internship, an occupation, or anything else.