Lindsay Garmon Ms. Fuentes English 1101-9 September 20, 201 Litera!

y Memoir "eading and #riting are t#o things that $ ha%en&t al#ays en'oyed doing. $n all the years o( my s!hooling and parti!ularly in high s!hool, reading and #riting #ere t#o o( my biggest stressors. )uring my !hildhood, reading #asn&t the (irst thing on my mind 'ust li*e any o( the other *ids. +e had better things to do, #at!h t%, play outside #ith the neighborhood *ids or play %ideogames. $t #asn&t until high s!hool that reading and #riting started to !ommand my attention and #hen $ (irst started to a!tually en'oy doing them. -y my senior year $ !ould read #ith ease but #riting papers started to (eel a little easier. $n my opinion reading and #riting are things that must be !ontinuously pra!ti!ed, 'ust li*e playing a sport. .a%ing spe!ial people there to help and support you is important too. $t hasn&t al#ays been easy and $ used to hate the thought o( reading a boo*. .o#e%er, as $ ha%e matured, gro#n older and no# a !ollege student, appre!iate the art o( reading and #riting more than $ e%er ha%e. /ut o( all the times $ #ant to use my memory, it (ails me nine times out o( ten. $t doesn&t ta*e me as (ar ba!* into my early years as $ #ould li*e it to. $ !an&t e%en remember #hat $ had (or brea*(ast this morning. 0he memories o( my !hildhood aren&t (luid, they&re 'ust bits and pie!es. $ (eel li*e $&m stu!* in an eighty-year-olds body su((ering (rom dementia. $t&s terrible. My only hope o( getting some in(ormation about

my !hildhood #as (rom my mom, Melissa. She told me she #ould read a short boo* to me, the *ind that only had (i%e pages and little #ords, and then go ba!* through the boo* and as* me to repeat the #ords ba!* to her a(ter she #ould say them again. +hen #e #ere in the !ar going some#here she #ould 1ui2 me on road signs, li*e the stop sign, as*ing me to stay stop, and then spell it out to her a(ter she #ould do it (or me (irst. My mom #as my biggest sponsor during my !hildhood. $ ha%e mu!h than*s to gi%e to my mom. She raised me as a single mother (rom birth until $ #as si3. My biologi!al dad has ne%er been in the pi!ture. 4ny#ay, let&s get to the high s!hool s!ene. $n high s!hool #as #hen reading and #riting really started to !ommand my attention. $n e%ery English !lass $ too*, #riting #as the !enter o( attention and (o!us o( the !urri!ulum. 0he tea!hers main goal #as to tea!h us ho# to #rite in the standards o( today&s so!iety, or #hi!he%er year #e #ere in at the time. 0his is #here my memory *i!*s in, $ don&t remember mu!h o( my (reshman or sophomore year. +e #at!hed mo%ies in my English !lass o( (reshman year. Sophomore year is a blur. Finally, #e get to my 'unior and senior years, the years $ !an a!tually remember. My 'unior english tea!her #as ready to pop #ith her se!ond !hild so she #ould only be there (or three #ee*s. 4(ter her departure, Ms. Sti!*le, an older lady #ith a big attitude #ould be our substitute (or the rest o( the year. 4t my s!hool, Moores%ille .igh S!hool, #e had to !omplete a 'unior resear!h paper in order to be promoted to 12th grade. 0he 'unior resear!h paper #as the biggest pie!e o( #riting $ had done so (ar in my li(e. $ #as s!ared out o( my mind. $ de!ided to do my paper on "osa 5ar*s. 0he 6i%il "ights Mo%ement and 4(ri!an-4meri!an history is something that $&%e al#ays been interested in. $ ended up getting a se%enty-eight on the paper. 7ot the best in the #orld but to me that

#as only pra!ti!e (or #hat #as yet to !ome. Senior english made the most impa!t on me, and is the reason $ #rite li*e $ do today. $ got lu!*y to ha%e Mrs. Gardner, a (un-si2ed, enthusiasti! #oman, #ho #as al#ays smiling and so engaged in tea!hing as my tea!her. She #as pro(essional and al#ays on top o( things. She #ouldn&t be happy on ho# many times $&%e been saying 8$8 and 8you8 in this paper. She #as the one #ho drilled in my head not use those #ords. +e read t#o boo*s that $ really en'oyed, 5ride and 5re'udi!e by 9ane 4usten and Fran*enstein by Mary Shelley. $ ha%e seen the 5ride and 5re'udi!e mo%ie and absolutely lo%ed it, so #hen Mrs. Gardner announ!ed that #e #ere going to be reading the boo* $ #as so e3!ited. 0he boo*s setting is in 1:th !entury England. -a!* then so!ial !lass #as e%erything; you #ere either ri!h or poor, *no#n or un*no#n. Finding a suitable #i(e or husband #ith money #as the (o!us. For (un people #al*ed, dan!ed, played an instrument, or read boo*s, mu!h di((erent then #hat #e do (or (un in the 21st !entury. 0he main !hara!ters are the -ennet&s, Mr. and Mrs. -ennet, the (i%e -ennet sisters eldest to youngest, 9ane, Eli2abeth, Mary, <itty and Lydia, Mr. -ingley and Mr. )ar!y. 0he -ennet&s are a middle-!lass (amily, they are neither ri!h nor poor but #ell o((. 0he boo* (o!uses on Eli2abeth -ennet, an opinionated, (eisty girl #ho doesn&t ta*e !rap (rom anyone and Mr. )ar!y, a #ell-*no#n, *ind o( stu!* up, #ealthy and handsome ba!helor #ho is loo*ing to settle do#n. 0hese t#o !ome (rom %ery di((erent ba!*grounds. Mr. )ar!y #as born into a #ealthy (amily and all he&s e%er *no#n is money. Eli2abeth gre# up in a big (amily #ith (our sisters, and not %ery mu!h money but enough to get by on. $n

the beginning #hen these t#o !ross paths they bump heads and don&t get along %ery #ell, but throughout the story Mr. )ar!y and Eli2abeth (all in lo%e aside (rom their di((erent !ir!umstan!es and get married. $t&s a great lo%e story. Getting ba!* on tra!*. $n order to graduate (rom my high s!hool students ha%e to !omplete a senior pro'e!t. $t !onsists o( !ompleting (i(teen hours shado#ing a mentor, a pro(essional #ho #or*s in the area o( the topi! o( your !hoi!e, a digital port(olio, and a 9-10 page resear!h paper on the topi!. /( !ourse the resear!h paper #as my least (a%orite thing to do, but it helped in my #riting te!hni1ue and introdu!ed me to the proper #ay to !ite resour!es. My o%erall grade on my pro'e!t #as a ninety. $ !ame a long #ay (rom the 'unior resear!h paper. $t&s humbling getting a good grade on something that $ #or*ed hard on. $t ma*es me (eel good and empo#ered. $n Syl%ia S!ribner&s, Literacy in Three Metaphors, she des!ribes three metaphors in #hi!h to !ategori2e litera!y. 0#o metaphors really stu!* #ith me and they #ere litera!y as po#er and litera!y as a state o( gra!e. $ thin* the art o( reading and #riting !an gi%e people both o( these. -eing literate !an ma*e people (eel sel(-empo#ered and they !an use that as a means to ad%an!e in so!iety. -eing literate !an also ma*e people (eel spe!ial, as a state o( gra!e. "eading and #riting are things that $ ha%en&t al#ays li*ed doing. $ ha%e !ome to lo%e doing these things through years o( pra!ti!e and help (rom spe!ial people. $ plan on pra!ti!ing more through my years as a !ollege student and to only get better.