Colburn 1 Julia Colburn M. Weaver Rhetoric 101 15 November 2013 Evolve in Literacy Reading is no stranger to me.

I grew up being read to and having the urge to learn how to read. I can remember having my sister come into my bedroom almost every night, flipping on my bedside light and reading me Harry Potter. I would sometimes feel jealous of her and her ability to read those beautiful words that seemed so foreign to me. I began to become so frustrated, so irritated and so motivated by my sisters eloquence that I would stay awake at night, trying to reread the same passages that she had just recently recited to me earlier. The more I read, the more I understood, and to understand brought me comfort. My vocabulary started to grow larger and larger from every book I would read. Through my reading I slowly was able to communicate through my words, and the more I spoke and wrote down my words, the more useful I felt. I felt my words were beautiful, just like the words my sister spoke to me from the books. I remember when I was younger my Mom put me in the summer reading program at the local library. The student who read the most books got something like a bookmark or free stuffed animal. Basically the goal of the club was to read a book and then at the end of the week you would talk about it to the rest of the club, sharing what you learned or how you felt about the reading. Every week I would read a book and I would write about it, but when it came time to present to the rest of the club what I read, I froze. I couldnt speak, my heart would race and my hands would get clammy. At first I had no idea why this happened, I knew what I read in my

Colburn 2 mind, and I knew it well, but why couldnt I spew my thoughts out onto my peers? I soon realized that I had a fear of being wrong about literacy. I had a fear that if I spoke and the wrong words came out I would be shunned like an 18th century leper. This frustrated me to no end, knowing I had all the knowledge sitting right there at the tip of my tongue but not being able to convey it. So I asked the childrens librarian for a second option, I asked her if instead of speaking if I could write it down instead. She at first looked at me like I was crazy, wondering why a 7 year old would want to write in their free time. It was comfortable, words felt safer and more secure on paper to me. A more solid form of communication that couldnt be misconstrued by my fumbling tongue. By then end of the book club I went through 16 books and 16 small essays. I won the bookmark, and I felt pride in my work. 9 years later a lot changed for me. June 22nd, 2011 is the day that my literary inspiration, my biggest fan and my sister moved across the country. I felt lost without her by my side. The day my sister left she gave me a few things; some clothes, old CDs and the most important thing she left me was a book. The book is titled A Heartbreaking Work of Astonishing Genius by Dave Eggers. There was a note left with the book that simply said Read Me. Love, Aileen. I tore through the 437 pages of this novel with such fervency. I soaked up every word in the book like it somehow would give me the answer to any question I ever had. It left me inspired. The way Dave Eggers placed his words and told his story made me crave more. More knowledge. More words. More literature. I found my lack of speech irrelevant as I told every person I encountered about this amazing novel I just read. I no longer felt the uneasiness I felt when I was younger, I was confident when I spoke and I was so sure about everything leaving my mouth like I had recited it all before. Once again my sister inspired my literacy growth, and she didnt even know it.

Colburn 3 As my junior and senior year of high school rolled around, I felt I couldnt learn anything more about reading and writing. I was mistaken. The spring semester of my junior year brought a tremendous turnaround in my life. As my grandma fell ill my parents moved to Connecticut to take care of her, leaving me to live alone. At first this was a field day, I took full advantage of no parents, as any teenager would. But this was short lived, as this independence caused my grades to suffer and my attendance to plummet. Many noticed, including my lacrosse coach. I considered him my second dad, he knew me better than I did. When he noticed I was falling behind he took me under his wing. I moved into my coaches house for the remainder of my parents leave. I was used to being an only child after both of my older siblings moved out. Now living in my Coaches house I basically adopted 4 new siblings. The most impactful thing about this move though, was the fact that my coachs wife was an English teacher. Instead of watching TV or spending hours on the computer I found myself reading with her. Whether it was a magazine, newspaper or one of her students essays. This type of reading turned from more than entertainment but more into education. The more of her students essays I read the more I learned how and how not to write. My grammar skills became heightened and my literacy abilities skyrocketed. Not only did living with this family shape the technical part of my literate abilities is also shaped my literacy identity. In the one month I spent with my coaches family I started to pick up on their literacy personalities. Them being a large Italian family, I began to add vulgar words to my in-house vocabulary and my tone of voice became louder. I found that my new surrounding began to influence me. This experience changed the way I speak today. Thinking back now, many things have shaped me to have the literate capabilities I have today. I owe it to my sister, my own self will and my community and friends. Most importantly I owe it to books. Books have this unique way of stopping time in a particular moment and saying:

Colburn 4 Lets not forget this. My curiosity and constant need to learn is ever changing. Im far from a perfect writer and there are still words I come across in my reading that I dont understand. But that doesnt stop me or discourage me, it now compels me. I still get nervous when I speak but I am learning to speak with passion through my work. I am an evolving literate being, and that is something that will never change.