Writing Prompt #1 Literacy Narrative

Joshua Carino

UWRT 1104

January 25, 2017

 1

Reading and writing are two of the most fundamental building blocks of education. As

such, the cultivation of each skill requires the gentle and steady hand of an important figure in a

persons life; and for me, that person was my dad. Since I did not have any siblings, my dad only

had his and my moms personal experiences in the Filipino educational system. He often said

that he wanted my life to have less struggles than his did; therefore, he took it upon himself to

get me reading. So, at a young age, my dad would often sit me down and tell me to read a

passage from whatever book he had lying around at the time. The books would range from

surreal fantasy to the most bone-chilling horror, and no matter how uninterested or frightened I

was of the story, he always expected me to finish them. Back then, I felt that reading was the

most tedious task in the whole world, but in retrospect, it truly did stimulate my brain enough

that the words on the pages stuck. The older I got, the more exposed I became to the literary

works of our modern times. Though the daily reading sessions with my dad stopped, I continued

to explore other narrative works of contemporary authors like J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan.

The way in which they could weave together fantastical worlds with mere words left me

breathless. Had it not been for these books, I do not think I would be as literate as I am now.

Besides the books of my youth, many other factors played into my literacy narrative. For

one, much of the rhetoric I learned through my school classes bled into the works that I would

soon compose for my college essays. To that point, much of the success I have in college, with

regards to essay writing, can be attributed to the rather harsh critiques I received from my senior

English teacher. It wasnt until I received back my essay for 1981 that I realized there was a

problem with the way I write. Leading up to creating the essay, I had annotated my copy to the

brink with little notes and color coded sticky notes, and as such, was expecting the conception of

the essay to be easy. However, going into a word document and composing it was difficult to say
 2

the least. I found myself filling the paper with more fluff than actual substance because I did not

know how to streamline my thoughts. From back then to today, I often struggle with translating

the thoughts and ideas I have in my head into written word. Even now, writing this essay proved

to be somewhat of a challenge; and yet, writing while in these bouts of creative chaos offers such

a unique experience, as it helps me grow as a writer and as an educated human being.