Mary Autry
Mr. Vinson .W. Jaye
English 101-603
Literacy Narrative
13, September 2012
Pure Bred Puerto Rican to Backwoods Southern Belle My literacy narrative is a little different. It’s not exactly how I first learned to read or write but, how I became literate in a different sense. My birthplace, San Juan, Puerto Rico, I remember only certain things. The things I remember are things you would only see on television. Nothing you would want to really imagine for yourself, loved ones or anybody else you know. For example, I remember the heat being constantly unbearable. Nothing like what we are used to here in Alabama. We are used to the season changing and look forward to summer, winter, fall, and spring. Here we deal with weather conditions for a few months and things change up again. But not in Puerto Rico: things don’t change much. Heat is Heat. Sure it gets humid, it rains, it’s sunny, but the heat is always there. I remember some horrible thing I rarely discuss with anybody because I don’t want to have to have people imagining them. I remember fusses and fights between my mother and my grandparents. It wasn’t a happy home. At age 4 I was adopted to a new family- people that couldn’t have children of their on. Adoption was the only was the only way for them to have a family. They were in the military and were stationed at a military base in Puerto Rico when unexpectedly; they got a call about me. Being 4, this was a bigger transformation for me than you would think. I could only speak a little because of never being taught. No one was really there to help me. Most parents spend all the time they have teaching their children new things and perfecting them. Not mine! Getting adopted was the turning point of my literacy experience.

My new mother, Dona Autry, from Lauderdale County, Ms. And my new father, Tom Autry, from Chickamauga, GA. As expected,