Who am I?

My literacy development was a journey of self discovery, guided by key people, books and places. Influential people drove me to exceed the expectations of myself and everyone else. The works of specific literary masters enchanted me with language, structure and story. The places I have gone accompanied by life experiences have inspired me to do some pleasure writing of my own. Collectively, these elements of my literacy development have aided me in maturing and discovering who I am as a writer and a young college student preparing to take on the world.   

My mom always encouraged and expected reading and writing in my life as she partially homeschooled me through elementary and middle school. As a child, my teachers pushed me to do better each time I wrote and to not settle for mediocre work. An example of this lies with the first assignment I turned into my seventh grade english teacher, Mrs. Eggleston.

I had always been praised for my abilities as a young writer and hardly ever criticized, however with that assignment my whole outlook changed. I was so proud of that first assignment and expected nothing less than a perfect score, but upon receiving the paper back I saw that I had earned a “D”. I had never gotten a score so low and was appalled. She challenged and stretched me every year that I was her student and I was so blessed to have her in my life. Mrs. Eggleston was a  teacher of mine off and on from seventh through twelfth grade. She inspired me with her love for books and for the internal structures and themes in the literature we studied.

C.S. Lewis was an author I grew up with and continue to adore. He hooked me at first with his childrens fiction, then reeled me in with his more deeply theological works. Hemingway intrigued me with his brilliant literary voice and deep rooted themes. Ted Dekker thrilled me with his gifted storytelling and confounding plotlines. J.K.Rowling allowed me to believe in magic, fantasy and true love through her work. These authors gave me a place to escape to when I was hurting and helped me to relate to the world in a more palpable way.  

All five books that truly had a significant part in my literary development  were also spiritually inspiring. The Bible has guided me as far as learning how to live life in a way that is pleasing to God and others. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis delves into the spirituality of our world and forces one to really think about where they would like to spend eternity and how they want to live their earthly life.  Emmanuel's Veins, a thrilling allegory written by Ted Dekker grabbed my attention with his romantic story of a hero defeating a great evil in order to save his love, despite the sacrifices he has to endure. Beowulf, another classic picture of good vs. evil at its finest, enthralled me with its rich spiritual symbolism. The Harry Potter series, while it wasn’t intended to be christian still has the underlying structure of a “christ-figure” piece. Together these bound pages opened up new worlds and possibilities for my life.

Different places inspire me to write in unique ways. In my bedroom, for instance, I tend to write creative short stories and song lyrics. However, when I’m outside, whether it be a walk near my house or relaxing on the beach, I often write poetry. Another place I found writing to really flow out of me was at my grandparents house in South Carolina. Something about being up there made me feel like I stepped out of my own life, even for just a minute, and allowed myself to observe and experience things like never before.   

The point being, there was no way  I would be in the place I am today or be the person I have become 

without the influence of literacy in my life. I would be lost, stuck  inside myself without a means of escaping, 

much less expressing my thoughts, intentions or feelings to those closest to me. In a way, you could say my 

literacy development was what truly inspired me to really live.