For professor Geek.

Personal Literacy Narrative

Sometimes I keep wondering and asking myself, who am I? How much literary skills do I have? Honestly speaking, I consider myself to be an average writer. I believe that is relatively comfortable as I can communicate, especially with educational stakeholders, in an effective manner. Probably, my writing skills would have been a lot better had they not been limited to completing term papers on various subjects.

School subjects/courses are usually chosen for the students. It is not the students who choose what to do: rather, the institution come up with the structures of courses, and all the students have to do is to abide by those stipulations. Honestly, I have never attempted engaging in any other form of formal writing. This is mainly because I have to work and study at the same time, and I do also have to balance those commitments with familial and personal matters.

In the middle-school where I was a student, we were required to complete a number of poems from time to time. I did not like poems very much since I was experiencing a number of challenges. These challenges included deciding what to write about as well as deciding the most appropriate form. New poets always experience some of these challenges, and we were always advised on how to avoid them. Nonetheless, it was not always easy to grasp what the tutors were talking about.

Poetry is a form of art: it is a figurative language. I believe that one has to be talented, and also have the passion to continue discovering the mystery behind this form of communication. Not everyone is passionate about poetry, and languages in general. However, this does not mean that one is foolish, or cannot succeed in other areas. Having said that, it is important to always appreciate that individuals cannot learn new skills in absence of a means of communication. This is why languages are important.

Most colleges in the United States requires that new students be effective in communicating in the English language. The same is the case in countries such as Spain, Japan, Germany, Italy, and many more. In case the individuals in question are unable to communicate in the said languages, they are required to undertake a language course in order to enable them fit and catch-up with the rest of the students.

There have been moments when I am compelled to write letters, both formal and informal. However, these instances are extremely few. Besides, they are also far between. Even though I have never been a serious and dedicated writer, i.e. in other areas other than the coursework, I still believe that the accomplished writers do not have a lot of competitive edges over me. In any case, I believe that I can be just like them. It all calls for commitment, and following through with those plans.

One thing I have come to realize is that learning is equivalent to undertaking a project. An individual, or a group of people, begin by setting-up the goals. Then they come up with the plans to achieve those goals. Those plans have to include milestones and timelines. Milestones are meant to facilitate a continuous process of evaluation of progress. These are some of the things which I have been taught by my teachers since middle-school.

The first formal writing that I undertook was when I was a 5th grader. The assignment was of significant length; and although it was not poetry, I had challenges in having it completed. Actually, it was a review of a chapter of one of our main books. Although it was challenging, I did have fun. The fun was not the same as I would have experienced while playing on the school playground, but at least I learnt something that is still relevant to this day.

Throughout my studies in middle school, we were always required to complete papers of between 4 and 6 pages every semester. As I indicated, these were on subjects which were assigned by our tutors. Most of the papers were research-based, or case studies. I remember writing a paper on The Spanish Revolution. This paper was a bit longer since it had to be at least 10 pages.

The kinds of papers which I have really liked since I was in middle school are the ‘opinion based’ papers. The papers ranged from book reports to topics on affirmative action. I was a debater, and I must say that this is what made me like the ‘opinion papers’. In fact, I have always enjoyed debating with peers; and even when I am alone in the house, I just find myself having two opinions which tend to be in a tag-of-war with each other.

Without watering-down the experiences I gained while in the middle school, I have to appreciate the fact that much of what I know (and much of what I can do) is based upon the skills which I learnt while in high school. In high school, we were required to prepare a series of drafts, and the tutors would use these drafts for the purpose of helping us enhance our skills. Personally, I never felt comfortable with that strategy. It was a good strategy for those who would not get it in their first or second attempt; but I believe that my personality demands that I undertake a task ‘once-touch’. I revise as I write, and that is why I feel derailed when I am required to write drafts and then keep on enhancing them as time goes by.

I am not saying that I am stubborn, or that I do not like following instructions, but I think it is my character trait to want to get all the instructions before-hand; and then work on them at once. Anyway, I have found peers enjoying revising ten or more drafts, and I really encourage them although I know that would be too much for me. In essence, my first draft usually ends up being my final paper; and this is especially the case if the papers in question are lengthy. I would rather revise bit-by-bit than keep remembering that I have a 50, 60, or 70 page paper that need to be revised.

I will be honest: I do not feel motivated to read lengthy texts or papers. However, I can read as much as long as the stories making the text are relatively short. Anything more than four pages tend to put me off, unless it is necessary that I read it. This is not good, and I am not proud of it. I am actually trying to get rid of this habit since it may be impossible to avoid lengthy readings in my educational and professional life. I believe that it is when you enjoy doing something that you do it perfectly.

I like being honest, and that is why I have indicated a number of areas in which I genuinely feel that I need to improve. Of course, life is not just about the things that we want, or the issues which make us happy. There are things which we cannot control. For instance, one may be required to go through a 50 page agreement before committing his organization into a costly business deal. In such a case, failure to read and understand everything may result into catastrophic outcomes. That is why I feel that each one of us need to appreciate that they are not alone in this world. We have to accommodate one other by engaging in practices which are conventional. With regard to the issues I have been addressing, one has to understand the languages and be willing to go an extra mile to complete and understand written work.