Literacy Narrative Essay
How reading Ushered Me into Writing
For most of us, writing forms an essential aspect of our lives, perhaps as important as almost anything else on this planet. To put it into context, I feel about the same way about writing as I feel about naps – I love them. I take naps almost every day. Although I can get through a day without taking a nap, I just do not like it much. Sometimes I nap too much, but the funny thing is that I find myself wishing I had slept the whole day rather than regret. I simply love naps, and that is how I feel about writing too. I write practically every day, whether it is jotting down the moment’s thoughts or writing a personal piece. However, my affection towards writing developed due to an overbearing desire for reading right from my childhood days. This essay will focus on how my interest in reading from a tender age set me to discover my first love – writing.
I vividly recall the first time I learned reading. I was young and eager to learn; however, no one in my household paid interest in my newly discovered fascination. I was left to navigate these new waters alone. I remember pacing up and down our house carrying books almost twice my size, trying to convince my family members to teach me, but none of them was having any of it. Eventually, seeing how determined I was, my aunt volunteered to tutor me. However, most of the time, she was as reliable as a politician’s promise, which is to say, not very. Then I proceeded to my high school brother, who was also failed colorfully. I could not take the disappointments anymore, so I decided to teach myself. I would sit with my aunt as she watched the TV in the evening and try pronouncing words said in the programs. With time, I became an “expert” and would tutor other kids within the neighborhood.
In due course, reading became ingrained in me, and as time progressed, I started reading more and more books. As my reading skills improved, I was able to read at higher levels than other students within my grade level. Every three days, the teacher would assign me a new book to analyze, and I would come back having learned a new thing. In turn, this helped sharpen my writing skills as I subsequently worked towards improving on areas that the teacher had singled out.
Reading ushered me into writing. Through reading, I learned the art of playing with words, and by the time I was joining college, I had developed a sincere interest in poetry writing. Although I was exposed to many poets, Cesar Vallejo’s “Spain, Take This Chalice from Me” struck a chord. Everything about the work resonated with me. Consequently, I developed an intimate relationship with the literary work, which introduced me to a new world of poetry that I never knew existed. Ever since this encounter, Vallejo continues to influence how I write my poems. Although I am not there yet, I could say Vallejo has had a significant impact on my “amateur” poetry writing. Vallejo has/had strong an impact on me that my first poem was loosely based on his character – deduced from the literary work. Besides, through reading his work, I learned other additional things, such as how to employ language effectively to capture the readers’ minds and how to author poems that encourage emergent readers who are struggling to find the motivation to pick up a book sharpen their reading skills.
Reading, whether good or bad, has the unique ability to inspire. As seen in my case, it develops your comprehension of all the tricks employed by writers over the years. But most importantly, reading can bring out the writer in you that you never knew existed in the first place.