Andrew Yates
Instructor – Anissa Demiter
ENG 111
January 16, 2015
Literacy Narrative Throughout my childhood, the idea of having a college education was greatly stressed. As a result, it was my duty as the next generational child, to excel in my studies and achieve a life of prosperity and success. Learning became the basic foundation of my growth. Therefore, my youth was overtaken by many hours spent reading and writing what was known to be correct "Standard" English. I first found this to be a great shortcoming, but I knew that one day I wanted to have a great career. At this time I had no idea what I was going to become but trough reading and writing I had a few ideas. One idea was to be a truck driver or a pharmacist, but I later discovered I liked law enforcement much better. Through the many years of school I have found it very hard to get through my English classes. I found writing to be the hardest subject, but I always gave it my best. Reading I found much easier. I have always liked reading more it is easier than to write something. My mom always helped me through by encouraging to do so. She always told me “son if you just give it your best then you will make good grades”. Those words have stuck with the throughout my life. I strive to do my best in everything I do today. I give it my best. I think the reason I struggled with writing is because I’m more of a hands on person. I have been this way for as long as I can remember. I used to take things apart just to put them back together. There was no reading instructions, I just did this without them. I still sometimes put things together without reading instructions. One time, I put a shelf together without reading the instructions. I quickly learned the hard way that I should have read the instructions. In writing, the instructions are not always very clear to me or very easy to understand, but I eventually figure things out and move forward. I would much rather be hands on than write something out on a paper. I’m glade though that I have been pushed to do better with writing because it is a big part of my career. In my younger years, I always thought of becoming a truck driver or a pharmacist. I also thought about being an auto mechanic. That would require a lot of reading instructions. Later on in school, I believe the 10th grade, I had to write a research paper. I chose to do my paper on law enforcement. Through writing this paper, I discovered that I would rather be a law enforcement officer. I wanted to one day protect and serve. So I guess you could say, that reading and writing was a life changer for me. In the research, I read what an officer's duty consists of and quickly liked what I was reading. I knew then that I would like to do the job. I think what I like the most is knowing that I would be protecting people’s lives. I also read of the dangers of being a police officer. You don’t always have back up; but none the less, I still wanted to be a police officer. I now have a career in law enforcement. I work at Foothills Correctional Institution with the current tittle of correctional officer. I plane to further my career into probation parole. I’m seeking a master’s degree in criminal justice. In elementary school, I did not realize that I would be using reading and writing throughout life. I use these skills every day with my job. It is a very hard skill to learn but a good skill to have.
In my job we have to write statements on just about everything we do. This includes everything from when we do drills to writing up inmates. When writing up an inmate, it is imperative to be correct on everything in my writing. It must be this way so that the investigative officer’s job is much easier. If an inmate writes a grievance on an officer, we have to write a statement in response. When we run a fire drill or an escape drill, we have to write a statement on that. Every time I write a statement, I’m basically writing a short story on what I did or what happened. It is uncanny how writing a statement is much like writing a short story. It has to explain everything I do in a drill. My Sargent is very picky on using correct spelling and correct wording. These statements can be used in court so they have to be written correctly. If I don't proof read them, and I have written it wrong, it can’t be used as evidence. I have some bad experiences with writing, such as having to write a statement more than one time. Sometimes I have to write them three times to get it right. The state of North Carolina requires us as state employees to write in black ink. So when I make a mistake I have to rewrite my statement. Even though, I proof read them, somehow my Sargent finds an error. I have to write the statement again. I had another bad experience in high school. On my senior project, the research paper I was doing was supposed to be in first person. I wrote the paper on Jimmy Hendrix. I wrote it in third person, but I still got a c on the paper. I was very embarrassed. I have had lots of other bad experiences, and I have had good experiences with reading and writing, but none the less I enjoy it now.
In closing my mother was a great influence in my life with reading and writing. If she would not have pushed me so and encouraged me through, I would not be achieving my goals. My mom has been a role model for me. She graduated college with an associate’s degree in law. I hope I can be the parent she was and can teach my kids to do the best they can, even if they do not like reading and writing. I find myself reading more books each and every day.