AkhilRamlakan

Mrs.Grant
UWRT1101
11/3/2014
LiteracyinMyLife

1
ReadinghasalwaysbeenapartofmylifeaslongasIcanremember.Growing
upinasmalltownonthecoastofSouthAfricahasitsbenefitsyourfamilyisalways
close.Atthetime,mybrotherandIwereboththeonlychildreninamassivefamily.We
gainedalotofunwarrantedattentionfrommanydifferentpeoplewhoeachinfluenced
usintheirownway.Mygreatgrandfatherhadapassionforwriting,althoughhehadan
evengreaterpassionforwatchingtelevision.Nobodyhadamoreofanimpactonmy
literacythanhim.Heservedasafatherfiguretomyfather,andallofhisvalueswere
passeddownthroughthegenerations.
Swimming,reading,andwritingwereallnecessaryforsurvival,asthrowingus
intothepoolwasacommonoccurrenceevenattheageofthree.Inorderof
importance,nothingtrumpedbooks,asafamilyunderstandingtheimportanceof
knowledgeknewitwaspower,andthroughtheworldsofHarryPotterandtheMagic
TreeHouseIfoundmyself.Ourpassionforreadingstretchesbackto1976,whenmy
father,ayoungIndianboydealingwiththesegregationofacountryfoundsolacein
books.Insteadofplayingrugby,cricket,orsocceroutside,undertheguidanceofmy

greatgrandfather,hoursuponhoursadaywerespentatthepubliclibrary.Everyday
hewouldreadbooks,andashegrewup,herealizedtheirimportance.Hebecame
obsessedwithhowharditwastogaininformationbackthen,andhoweasyitistolearn
anythingnow.Throughhisexperiencehelearnedtheimportanceofhisliteracy,and
wassuretopassitontomybrotherandI.
Ascomparedtothelimitedresourcesofasocietystrugglingthroughthe
apartheid,mybrotherandIwereinagoldenage.Iwastoldthatwewereextremely
luckywiththiswealthofknowledgesurroundingusandhowpeopledonotappreciate
it.Alltheseinstitutions,schools,universities,libraries,andespeciallytheWorldWide
Webwererifewithinformationthatcouldbeaccessedatwill.Ididntnecessarilycare
backthen,butInowrealisethetroublesmyparentswentthroughtomakesureIhad
thebesteducationpossible.Allthetripstothelibrary,bedtimestories,andmy
exposuretotechnologywastomakemeappreciatethewealthofknowledgeavailable,
inhopesIwoulduseittofurthermyself.
Everyfewweeksofmychildhoodwerespentatapubliclibrary,againstmywillat
first,butsoonturningtoenjoymentandanticipation.Everyoneinmyfamilywouldtake
homeabook,andmebeingthecompetitivepersonIam,hadtomatchthelengthofall
thebookseveryoneelsewasreading.Mybrother,attheageofnine,wouldtakehome
600pagefantasyepics,andmydadwouldbecontentwithanythingSciFi.Icouldntbe
oneuppedbythem,soItookfourtofivebookshomeeverytrip,usuallyendingwithme
readingone.ItwasanaccomplishmentifIcouldsitthroughallofthem.Competition

empoweredmetoread,andthroughmyfatherswillIwasabletorealizehowfarliteracy
cantakemeinthisworld,andthroughconstantreadingIfoundmypassion.

2
SoonaftermyarrivalintheUnitedStatesatagefour,andasmydadbecame
infatuatedwithinformationandthetechnologysurroundingus,Itoobecameextremely
dependentontechnology.AswetookourstepsdownfromMiamiInternationalairport,
weweretired,confused,andhungry,albeitamazed.Tosoothemyfiveyearoldbrother
andI(atfour)mymomdecidedtogototheelectronicsshopandbuythefirstthingthat
couldgetustoshutup.Fromthenon,apinkGameBoyAdvancewithPokemonRed
formybrother,andapurpleGameBoywithPokemonBlueforme.Thatwasthefirst
stepinmylifelongtechnologicaljourneyandoneofmyfondestexperiences.Itookthat
thingeverywhere,oncarrides,goingoutside,toschool,toeat,everywhereIwalkedmy
Gameboystayedbymyside.Thisbecamemysegwayintoconsoles,computers,
laptops,cellphones,younameit,Ihadthecheap,usedversionofit.Whenmyfather
stressedthatwearesoluckytobehere,hetookituponhimselftobeonthecutting
edgeofthiscomputerrevolution.EverynewPDA,cellphone,iPod,computer,laser
disk,flashdrive,orwhateverrevolutionaryproductcameout,weknewabout(and
hopedtohave)it.Throughoutmychildhoodmydadtriedtoteachusexactlyhowtouse
thesemachines,whichIrespondedwithignorance.IthoughtbyplayingRunescapeand
3

havingabetterknowledgeofMicrosoftwordthanmysecondgradeteacher,Iknew
exactlyhowtousecomputers.ItwasntuntillaterinmylifethatIrealizedIwasdead
wrong,andhowifIlistenedtothewordsofmydadthatIcouldbesomuchfarther
aheadthanIamnow.
ItwasthroughmyhighschoolcomputerscienceteacherMrs.RoszkothatIwas
finallyabletounderstandwhatIcoulddotofurthermygrasponcomputersandhowI
couldaffecttheworld.ThroughtwoyearsofcomputersciencecoursesIlearnedhowto
codeandbeproficient.Butbeingproficientdoesn'tjustmeanusingprogramswell,it
alsoinvolveschangingandshapingthewayyouthink.Iveneverwrappedmyhead
aroundthingsthewayIdidwhencodingthroughmundaneassignments,making
promptsforafakeairport,orcalculatingthecostofrentalcarsoverandoveragain.Its
quiteamazinghowmanytimesyoucanbewrongbywritingaprogramasworkingand
workingefficientlyaretwodifferentbeastsentirely.Thereareaninfiniteamountof
solutions,andwhatcanbeaccomplishedinathousandlinescanalsobedoneinten.It
wasntuntillaterwhenIstartedmakingagameofTicTacToethatIrealizedtheerror
ofmyways,andthateverythingIwasdoingcouldhavebeendoneefficiently,
effectively,andquickly.Switchesclickedinmybrain,allowingmyselftobechallenged
afterlazingaroundthroughmuchoflife,instillinganewconfidenceinmyskills.Being
computerliteratemeansIcancreatesomethingthatcouldpossiblychangethewaywe
thinkofthisworld,andIplanonusingmyunderstandingtodojustthat.
3

Ihadneverbeenanavidwatcherofmovies,Ididn'tponderoverwhatmovieto
seeatthetheaterbasedonwhosaidwhataboutitorthecontroversybehind
everything.IsawmoviesthatIliked,andIwashappywithmychoices.Movieslike
RushHourorKungFuPandastuckwithmeasIwatchedforthebrightvisuals,cheerful
characters,andallaroundfunnyplots.ItwasntuntilImetmyfriendDannythatIstarted
toactivelysearchfornotentertainingmovies,ratherallthemoviesthatwereacclaimed,
accoladed,andhighlycontroversial.Hewasanelitist,heneededtohavethehighest
scoreinanygame,berankedhigherthaneveryoneelse,andunderstandeverythingon
ahigherlevelthananyoneelse.Unfortunatelyhecouldntdividehiseffortsso
unnecessarythingslikeschoolsufferedbeforeit.Noonehadquiteanaffectonmy
culturalliteracymorethanhim,forbetterorforworse.Heintroducedmetothegame
thatwouldengulfmylifeforthenextfewyears,gavemelistsofmoviesthatwould
changemyviewontheworld,butalsoservedtomakememorecynicalofaperson.I
rememberhegavemealistofahundredplusmoviesthathedeemedtobeextremely
good,andtheywere,andthroughthatlistIsat.Ifoundmyfavoritemoviesinthe
twistingstorylineandgrittyviolenceofTheDeparted,ortheconfusingyetextremely
interestingbackwardsmovieMemento.SittingthrougheverysingleTarantinomovie
madeaswellasScorseseallowedmetoseethatdirectorshadstylizedapproachesto
topics,andaswellasanarrowscopeonwhattopicstheylikedtoshowcase.Watching
moviesbecamelessandlessofanenjoymentandmoreofachoretoseewhatIcould
getoutofthem.Iwouldcompareandcontrastscenesinmyheadtoseewhetherornot
theyweregoodornotrarelycanIjustwatchamovieandenjoyit.Onthebrightside,I

feellikeIhaveadvancedmyculturalliteracybygoingthroughallthesemovies,butI
canneverlookataworkforpureenjoyment.
Throughtheseimportantpeopleinmylife,myliteracyevolvedaroundavariety
ofelements.Ireadforcompetence,competition,andenjoyment,andwatchedmovies
toheightenmysenseofcinemaelitism.Withoutthesupportfrommyfatherorbrother,
mylifewouldbecompletelydifferent.Iwouldn'thavethedesiretopursueatechnology
relatedcareer,orevenbeincollege.Iamgratefultoeveryonewhohelpedmealong
theway,evenIfInevershowedit.