First Paper: Literacy Narrative

An Unlikely Inspiration

         Throughout my schooling, I’ve always been told that I am a good writer. My parents and teachers alike have always praised the way that I can truly engage my audience, no matter what topic I write about. Whether this is true or not, is debatable, but nonetheless, the praise boosted my confidence during my time in grade school, and still today. Thinking back to when this praise and self-realization of my writing skills began, I remember my fifth grade teacher Mr. Coxon. Being required to write in a journal, and being rewarded for the length of my entries, made me strive to write more and more. However, I also realized that, while I was writing for a reward, I discovered a talent and somewhat of a passion along the way. [I really liked my intro. I feel as though it was short, sweet, and to the point.]
        Fifth grade was a whole new experience for me. I was finally in public school after attending a private Montessori school from kindergarten until fourth grade, due to the wishes of my parents. Montessori schools involve learning in a work-at-your-own-pace environment, where lectures are scarce and all the kids are at different places in the curriculum. Although I made many great friends and had fun in Montessori school, I believed that I was missing out on something better by not attending public school. I was under the false impression from movies and TV shows that public school was an essential childhood experience that I couldn’t miss out on! I didn’t really like the methods of teaching at my current school and thought I could reach my full potential in a different setting. After fourth grade, my parents told me I could choose to either stay in private school, or go to public school, and ultimately, I chose to make the switch. I was scared and nervous because I knew it was going to be a whole new experience. I had already made best friends in my old school and I was going to have to make all new ones. I didn’t know how I would adjust to having a different teacher, or how the curriculum was going to differ. However, I was ready to jump in and get started! [Even though a lot of kids haven't gone from private school to public school, I think a lot of my audience could relate to being "the new kid" whether moving from middle to high school or moving to a completely new place.] My fifth grade teacher, Mr. Coxon, was great, as I soon found out. He kept things interesting and made me want to learn, even being as young as I was. He connected the topics we discussed in class to examples in the real world, which made the subjects more interesting and engaging. We had computers in our classroom that, during certain times, we were allowed to play educational, but entertaining computer games. Learning while playing a game is really effective because it doesn’t seem like you’re learning, but to win you have to learn and solve problems as you go. His exceptional teaching methods aside, Mr. Coxon was always very kind and understanding and rarely got angry about anything. He knew when to have a lighthearted and fun attitude in class, and when to be serious. He held all of the qualities that I still hope to find in teachers I have today. [There's truly no words to express how awesome Mr. Coxon was! I wish I could've found ways to further describe his unique teaching methods and how much of a good teacher he was.]
         I met a girl towards the beginning of class named Brittany, and we soon became best friends, and are still best friends to this day. In class, each student had an assignment every day where we would each write in our journals about a different prompt. For each half-page we wrote, we would receive a little wooden golf tee. Throughout the year, each person in the class would accumulate golf tees and we were able to trade these in to Mr. Coxon and receive prizes like candy, extra credit, and other valuables. Brittany and I really bought into this reward system and every day that we had a journal entry, we would try to write as much as possible in order to get as many golf tees as we could. [It probably wasn't necessary to even mention Brittany in this paper at all and looking back, maybe I could've left this out.] Previously, in Montessori school, I had never really written extensive papers or anything of that caliber, but when I was able to free-write in my journal, I found that ideas came flowing to me easily, despite my lack of experience. I was surprised that I was able to write so easily about various topics without even having to think. Because of this newfound talent, I was able to write three or four pages in a short time, so I was able to accumulate many golf tees over the course of the year. This sense of reward was wonderful and really kept me going. By the end of the year, I had filled an entire journal full of my writing, and a had received multitude of golf tees. Not only was I excited about getting a gratifying prize with my golf tees, but I felt accomplished because I had written so much! On the last day of school, I decided to flip back through my journal and read some of my previous entries. I realized that, while for most of it my handwriting was horrible, because I was rushing to write as much as possible, the content of what I had written was very interesting and detailed. [This sentence is kind of awful, I definitely could've worded it differently or broken it up.] I had no idea I was actually a good writer!
          This moment truly defined me as a writer. I gained more confidence because of not only this, but the praise I had received throughout the year from Mr. Coxon and my parents, when I let them read my journal and other class writings. From then on, I enjoyed writing, for school and otherwise. I’ve found that discovering talents you never knew you had is one of the most satisfactory experiences you can have in your life. Finding my new talent of writing not only shaped me as a writer, but as a person as well. I’ve always been able to have self-confidence in my writing and used this confidence to also help others. Over the years, I’ve kept a few journals of my own for my own pleasure. Although having to cite sources and do research for most of my essays I’m required to write for school is something I find bothersome, I find that once I start writing, I enjoy myself. I hope that even once I am finished with my schooling, and I can continue writing and keep my talent and passion alive. [I think I should've added more to my conclusion. I think I should've kept this part, but made additions like, explaining more how I've become a better writer since then, or maybe something else to further explain my realization.]