It was cold, the floor was hard and I could smell the stench. I looked down at my shoes, no laces, and had the worst headache. 2 weeks had passed and freedom was embraced by the worst shame ever. If I have one lesson in life this was it. But I also took something away from this experience. A book and the content of the book.
I will not go into details of how I came to be here but I will tell you how I came to find my first book,” The Bible”. By no means am I religious or spiritual before going to “that place”, this is what I am going to call it. I remember being at “that place”, there were stacks of books in the corner and no one was reading them but just as pillows or scrapbooks. So I walked over and grab a book. Didn’t care what book. It was the bible. Never read it so I just started. Very interesting. But I finished it. I took it with me and to this day, it is at my bedside. The read was very uplifting, true to the nature of what I was told about the bible. I did not know it had many books within that one book. Each book described in detail the events that took place over different Eras. The principles and the teachings. The information holds so much value for me because that book directs me today.
So after leaving “that place”, curiosity bit me and I borrowed my next book from my sister, I didn’t care what book I read, I just wanted to read so I did. I read The horse whisperer. The book I read was different from the movie I watched, it was more detailed and it was so much more entertaining than how Hollywood portrayed it in the movie. The movie did not do justice to the book. The book gave it deeper emotions and I could just feel the energy from the writer. I loved it, how it was written and how it took my mind on an imaginary ride. This was the turning point. I started buying books, reading articles, magazines, and even crossword puzzles. I think it was the reading that perceived me, because the more I read, the more I was becoming aware of the now at that time. It felt like, someone took my dirty glasses off, cleaned them, and had me put them back on to see what I was missing. Context. Content. Understanding. Learning. Processing. Realization.
So after the realization, I started going to the library. So this is where my writing started. I started writing short stories for my entertainment. I did not know much about writing structure or the process of writing. After this, I kept writing and to this day, I have many books stored away. I am thinking about revisiting them.
I wrote my first resume as well, the involvement it took to generate a cover letter and resume. My sister gave me many revisions only to get frustrated, so I made use of my library card and researched how to write a resume. Writing my cover letter and resume gave me insight into the structure of the writing process.
Journaling is one thing I enjoy daily. I journal in the morning right after I awake and right before I go to bed. Journaling gives me a sense of relief. After starting this class, I am looking at my journaling with a practical understanding of what literacy knowledge entails.
I have built confidence, so I have decided to return to school to keep my promise and finish what I started years ago. So I am enjoying reading and writing to improve upon literacy knowledge.
I enjoy reading and writing. Sometimes for entertainment, sometimes for literacy, sometimes for clarification at work. Whatever it may be, having literacy knowledge has its benefits far beyond what's on the surface. So now I understand what they mean, “Do not judge a book by its cover”.
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