When I think of my personal history of reading and writing, the first person that comes to mind is my mother. This particular story is the most important one to tell, because my mother was my first teacher. My mother always reminds me of this by stating it herself. “Remember, mommy was your first teacher”, are the words that I have taken to heart. Whether it was reading children’s story books or practicing writing in cursive, my mother was the one that started it all in terms of my analogue literacy skills.
I remember all the time I spent writing and erasing in all of those cursive writing practice books with my mom there guiding me every step of the way. At that time, I was entering kindergarten as a student at Oakmont Elementary School. I would write and erase until I was ready. Then, my mother would give me one of her “mommy quizzes”. When I proved that I could write my full name in cursive without looking at the book, my mother was sure I had the foundation I needed to be successful.
Retelling this first scene triggers more memories from my early analogue literacy days. From kindergarten on up, it felt like I had to write more with each grade shift. By the time I reached high school, it seemed that I was guaranteed to have to write at least one essay in all of my classes. When it came to writing these papers, the challenge was to write in a correct and informative way. However, by adhering to the basics my mother taught me long ago, I was able to write these papers and graduate from North Crowley High School in the summer of 2018.
This experience in terms of my reading and writing journey has led me into developing a passion for film writing. My ideas about the film world have changed from accepting to expecting. How long will it take for someone to write the next original and groundbreaking film? I plan on providing the answer with my own unique scripts. The same amount of effort I put into learning cursive from my mother I will put into writing my own cinematic universe of characters.
To conclude, I’d like to say that this particular literary narrative shaped my life story by teaching me basic skills. I went from reading Five Little Monkeys Jumping on The Bed and writing in cursive to reading research articles and writing essays. Questions of power or knowledge really haven’t come across my mind. I just try my best to incorporate the skills I’ve been taught. I’m also sure that whether it’s reading, writing, or anything else, both me and my mother agree that God is the source of our power.
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