Literacy Narrative Assignment

ENG 1100

Ms. Williams

2 February 2015

Learning Literacy

The President of the Optimism Club turned to me; “Draw a number please,” she ordered. I reached my clammy hands into the bowl and snatched a piece of paper. I drew number one. That means I was to be first to present. I walked to the center of the stage and gathered myself for the moment I’d been preparing myself for weeks. I looked up from my jam-packed notecards into a sea of people and began… “Why me? Why not?”

Literacy is most widely known as the ability to read and write although it is not an ability one can acquire overnight, but a process that evolves with experience. My ability to write in a sophisticated and fluid manner has been an ongoing and exasperating process. In my younger years my writing was imaginative, enjoyable, and exciting. Although just like all skills advance so did my writing. As I entered middle school, my writing took a turning point when presenting became part of the process. Writing speeches and presenting them became the next frustrating milestone of my writing development. Through perseverance and practice my writing exploration has made me the literate person I am today, not only in writing, but in presenting with confidence.

My first recollection of writing included writing stories of the best memories of my childhood. As a young girl I spent a lot of my time with my Grandpa Baird. Almost every day we both would take our walking sticks and stroll to the candy store to pick up a sugary treat; I would always get a pack of Rolos. This memory was the first thing I ever wrote about due to the assignment I received in the first grade to write about a special memory. I will never forget the feeling of enthusiasm I sensed when I got to write about someone that I loved and enjoyed spending so much time. The satisfaction when Baird read my story will never leave me. Writing was a pleasurable, and inspiring part of me; all this changed when I entered middle school.

In middle school the topics I was assigned were often uninteresting and tedious. Teachers expected faultless grammar, proper sentence structure, and the dreaded 3.5 format to be done appropriately. My head was befuddled with all the guidelines that I was expected to know and follow. When writing, I no longer felt the exhilaration or ingenuity but instead would constantly worry about the structure of the rubric. I would loath getting papers returned to me and having to see all my errors. The red ink pen used by the teachers to grade my papers became my worst nightmare; it created fear and frustration. At the time it seemed as though I was never going to grow as a writer, but with a lot of trial and error I learned to follow the rules and understand how to write a respectable paper.

Little did I know in my near future a new obstacle was going to be upon me, presenting. My feelings were heightened in the spring of my 5th grade year when it was time for the Optimist Speech Competition. Not only was my assignment to write a speech, but also to deliver the speech in front of my class and possibly the entire school. As a 5th grader talking in front of a group of people may have been my biggest fear, and in my near future I knew I was going to have to face it.

At this point I had grown more confident in my writing with practice and encouragement from my teachers and family; although a new challenge was now in front of me, presenting my own writing. The Optimism Speech topic was assigned in the beginning of the third quarter. My peers and I walked into the classroom the day that the topic was to be announced with our heads hanging, already dispirited. Mrs. Fullenkamp, my 5th grade Language Arts teacher, always had a smile on her face, ear to ear. She turned to all of us and grinned, “Good morning students, are you ready for the big day?” After we all plopped into our seats like sacks of potatoes, we replied plainly, “Yes Mrs. Fullenkamp,” and all stared anxiously for the revealing of our topic.

As if she couldn’t hold it in any longer, she blurted “Your topic is ‘Why me, Why not?’” As soon as I heard the topic, my brain began to boggle with ideas and directions I could go with my speech. For the next three weeks I was absorbed in the speech. Each student slaved over his speech until the perfect final draft was complete and ready to deliver. Although writing the speech was not the worst part, the pressure of presenting it was constantly in the back of my mind. I practiced giving my speech every night to my family hoping to memorize it before I had to present it in front of my class. Due to the hours I spent practicing my speech, I felt ready when it was my day to present.

I was scheduled to be the last to present; I counted each student eagerly waiting for it to be my turn. While I waited, I recited my speech in my head what felt like over a hundred times. Finally it was my turn; my teacher turned to me, “Are you ready, Isabelle?” she asked. Although I was prepared for this moment, as soon as she called my name my heart began to beat as if it were going to pound out of my chest. I looked up at her and jumped out of my desk, “Yes, I’m ready!” I yelped and shuffled my way up to the front of the class. My hands began to sweat as I gathered all my notecards. I opened my mouth and my speech came out effortlessly as planned. At the end of my speech I strutted confidently to my seat. My teacher stepped to the front of the classroom, “The students advancing this year are Carter, Katherine, and Isabelle.” After I heard my name, my jaw dropped. I was so happy that all my hard work and practice paid off and that I was able to move on to the school competition.

“Why me? Why not?” Before I knew it, it was over. Although I did not move on to the next round, I still felt like I grew to be more literate through the experience. Participating in the speech competition led me to feel more confident with my writing and my presenting skills. Just like all things, with practice I was about to overcome my challenge of presenting just as I did the challenge of writing.

Learning to be a proficient writer put me through many stages, as did presenting. The first stage was inventive and gratifying with a sense of freedom. Frustration appeared in the second stage which led me to doubting my ability in both imagination and writing fundamentals. Although by practicing the instructions given to me, I learned the rules and learned to respect the writing process. I have come full circle, and I am again a creative and joyful writer, along with becoming a confident presenter, thanks to practice and determination.