Sigrid Hazel Jimenez
Literacy narrative

For the past month I’m now convinced that I’m in a new world thus shouldn’t retreat for this is a big opportunity that I must grabbed beforehand, a cold breeze that tickles my body, the season turned to be winter and the night was clear and cold, cars progressed for about forty to fifty miles per hour had notified me that there’s no turning backs before while I stood at the third arrival gate of Phoenix Sky Harbor Int’l Airport awaited for my brother to fetched us everything I’ve seen that night marked my entrée to the United States. I’ve been very blessed, because this is a lifetime opportunity that anyone searched for. No matter what might happened to me after years passed I would always be a proud Filipino.
I have to embrace this country’s culture and lifestyle for me to handle things on my own. Thanks to my family who never left me empty-headed about different matters herein this land, it is like you’re like a newborn baby that needed to be looked after. The language has never been a problem to me for I’ve been in that curriculum since I entered preschool. I spoke the language, but never been an outstanding speaker or writer. I used to have an average scores in my writing skills and fair scores in my speaking skills. I’m more of a listener than a speaker, thoughts because the best way I could have expressed my feelings is through writing and I lived by the thought that writing could express deeper feelings than speaking and wouldn’t required you to imbed tons of confidence for confrontation of one’s opinion hence I’m insuperable of vulnerabilities I could have got.
Do you consider reading to be an important part of the preparation for writing?-
W.S.: Oh, definitely. Absolutely. We learn any art not from nature, but from the tradition, from those who have practiced it before. Hemingway said you can steal from anybody you’re better than. But you can steal- in the sense of being influenced by, and even, improving upon- those who are better than you, too. People do it all the time. (Stegner, W. 1988)
On the twenty-sixth page of this book, On the Teaching of Creative Writing by Wallace Stegner had affected me the most. I was conscious about this book for I have been writing my first essay and was to submitted three weeks from now. Indeed, I had a hard time organizing my thoughts and simple errors were detected as I composed my first two drafts of this essay.
Writing isn’t a stranger for me, allowing my mind to fill up with all these new thoughts I was then composed many essays and reports since I was on my third grade. Consequently, I never failed an essay and other related theme but never got perfect, which made me still. I’m just an average student full of perseverance who sought for parents’ compliment. Thanks to the experience of becoming a staff member of our school paper that had developed my skills in writing when I was on my sixth grade. I had stopped to be passionate about writing due to this situation; I didn’t get any chance to reenter the office of school papers during my senior days, I was rejected and felt like giving up, different thoughts were gathered like there’s an occurrence of stratagem. Unfortunately I couldn’t avoid writing for it was a part of the curriculum throughout the school year. I’m hoping that through time and practice, my writing will continue to improve and grow. Reading jived with writing; these two were inseparable that I should cling for the rest of my lives. I have read several books but never been a book lover, the one that attracted me the most were fictional books like today’s trend. I had issues for some books particularly those palm-width books with fonts ranges from eight to nine that would seriously freaked me out and I would looked up for that book online those summary reviews per chapter really submersed my annoyance thanks for computers that made my life easier.
It was my senior year that made me embraced the true source of knowledge. Classmates of mine were very influential, specially my friend, Diana, great, smart student who had been an editor in chief in her junior year, optimistic and enthusiastic student who always put up brightness when you’re down, I’ve been her classmate since sixth grade and I’m very glad to have her in my life. She is really an expert in English everyone in the room confronted her about literature aspects specifically during essay writing. There’s this oral performance in our class, it was called book talk, seems like marketing you must have the best persuasion for students to read that book any methods were used. I had this since I was a freshman and I had a fair background nevertheless I should be skillful about it.
A month before the performance I was her seatmate for the third quarter of the school year, it was just an ordinary sunny day students were busy taking down notes, our classroom filled with colorful design such that there’s a ocean theme for the reading nook associated with a conducive and peaceful environment in a small room that freshen up one’s mind, urged me to asked her helped,
“Diana, would you lend me some of your books because I’ve had a hard time to found out what book would be right for me.” I asked.
She has a mini library in her house, which we all knew after all she’s a book lover, it is lucky for that chosen one to adopt a book from her because her vigilance through her books were considerable by us, so whenever you borrowed some books then left damages through it then you’ll be marked down.
“Beastly would definitely my choice for you after all you have been a fan of Vanessa Hudgens in HSM series, it was based from the fairytale Beauty and the Beast by Alex Flinn and is set in modern-day New York City, and it was on the big screen but I wouldn’t want you to watched beforehand just to avoid your disappointment, is it alright for you? She replied.
“That’s cool, yup I’ve been a fan but I’m not a diehard fan and thanks for the advice and I would try to avoid that movie beforehand, thanks a lot I would definitely love it.” I replied calmly. That was the first book I borrowed from her, day by day I had a conversation with her about the book and other related stuff that made me realized that a book lover doesn’t mean you’re a geek it’s just that readers really are into that preference and they wanted to have exploration about their interest, to attained that, reading would definitely be the best key. This was the only year that our closeness had been tightened.
The judgment day had arrived; I’ve put enough preparation just to make sure that my audience wouldn’t be boredom. I actually made a poster it was on a black poster size card that imposed the cover of the book with a slogan about that book; I drew the guy perfectly but the girl on the cover wasn’t that too perfect but it was wonderful I mean the book cover was really similar to my work and I’m convinced that I did a great job. I went to the front of the class; forty heads looked upon me that gave me goose bumps, my nerves started to kick in and I sounded good. As usual oral performance was an average thus would never be my expertise I always have tried to be at my best but I guessed I never succeeded. The fact that nervousness with pressure was initiated thus everything was a disgraced had been my ritual sensation. That downfall strikes unexpectedly made me became familiar with the unfamiliar and unfolds its techniques. I remembered my dad that day, strong, great, opinionated person encore the value of excellence throughout this lines; “Education drives you to detest yourself whenever you’re in trouble it’s your shield against insane individuals, and it is the most treasured entity that can never be stolen by someone else, so better be at your best so that you’ll never upset yourself.”
I’d lived through this philosophy that my dad articulated me since I attended school.
After that day I’d watched Beastly twice and comprehended that book first before movies because movies would made you frustrated felt like you thirsted for some scenes in the book to be published in the movie but it’s impossible for a remake. One quote written by Lawrence Clark Powell says “write to be understood, speak to be heard and read to grow.” This means that expression is the best tool to enforce yourself; whatever method you’ve used either writing or reading doesn’t matter at all as long as you make a voice and speak to let it have sound and reading will allow my writing and soul to grow and improve with the passing time. I would never let failures consumed my strengths henceforth would be the building blocks of my strengths. Success is never permanent and failure is never final. “Sometimes life just seems like chapters. Some good, some bad, but all come together to create story of our lives.” (unknown)