Kruti Dave

Dave 1

UWRT 1101-028
Blandford
9/22/15
Literacy Memoir
Remember the good old days, when life was much simpler and the days consisted of
nothing more than using our minds creatively? As a young child, technology was limited which
resulted in me having an imaginative mind. My creativity emerged from reading and writing.
Reading allowed my mind to explore and writing allowed me to express myself. I learned to
fully read when I came to the United States; shortly afterwards I started writing.
Starting out as new student in the States was much different than life back home. I moved
from India to the United States at the age of five. The earliest memory I have of reading was in
the United States. I attended school for a couple years in India, but it was simplistic. As a child
from overseas, it was difficult for me to engage with other children my age. My first language
was not English which in turn made communicating with my peers sluggish. I was motivated to
be more literate in English; and therefore started to read short stories to improve my vocabulary.
My kindergarten teacher gave me various children's books to read. The books she gave me
included princess books, and other to read books that contained pictures. I did not have an
abundance of friends in the States because of the language barrier so I became more timid. In my
free time, my older cousins would read to me because they wanted me to learn. In my free time, I
had a desire to learn; my older cousins read books to me in order to help me achieve my goals.
Reading was a medium that allowed me to entertain myself. As the days went on, I progressed
verbally and analytically. Learning to read not only allowed me to have a better grasp of verbal

communication, but it was also a way of challenging my mind. This experience taught me that
with perseverance, all goals in life can be achieved.
My reading turned more complex as I grew up. I was yearning to read different novel
series. I first started reading the Junie B. Jones books, because they were short and simple. I also
read the Clique, Harry Potter, and Twilight series. Thankfully my parents did not place any
restrictions on about what I could or could not read. In my parents eyes, they saw reading as a
way of learning to focus and concentrate. Being able to read was also a sign of education which
thrilled my parents. Digital literacies in elementary school did not exist; the main form of
relaxation I had was by reading or writing. My family is significantly religious, thus allowing me
to read important prayers. I advanced in my religion which is another example of how reading
was encouraged in my home. My parents read prayer books and I aspired to be as similar to them
as possible. Reading has multiple rewards, which include entertainment, self-satisfaction, and
education.
Reading merged into writing. The earliest form of writing I recall was in the States. My
kindergarten teacher prompted me to describe what was occurring in several pictures she showed
me. This started my interest in forming journals. As a young child, I learned to control my mind.
Whenever I was upset or angry, I used writing as a form of expressing myself. I turned my anger
and despair into words. When I revisited my journals, I reflected on emotions allowing me to
become more resilient. I was able to improve myself and learn to control my feelings and
thoughts. Writing changed me into a more positive person.
I not only used writing to write journals, also as a form of creativity. I created small short
stories with drawings. This derived from my love of reading; it compelled me to form stories of
my own. I created my own illustrations to go along with these stories; I had a creative mind as

child. Writing these stories made higher levels of school much less difficult. Since I was
accustomed to writing as a child, the papers assigned in class became less dreadful. My artistic
side came with this writing, so I drew images to illustrate the scenes occurring in my story. The
stories I wrote portrayed to my own life. This was another form of self-expression. Children need
to have a period in their lifetime where they can express themselves in modern day society as
children are becoming restricted from this. Modern day technology is preventing imaginative
thinking. The lack of access I had to technology made me grateful for the childhood I had. There
was not a great deal of technology that I had access to so I used writing as a form of
entertainment. Im appreciative for this because it trained my mind to think outside the box and
not just be set on one thing.
As I got older reading and writing became less appealing to me. There was an increase in
technology during my middle school years. This technology took away from my creative time. I
stopped reading because I thought it was too tedious and because I was required to read book for
my classes. Reading started to become forced and I enjoyed it less. When something you love
becomes forced you tend to sway from it. Technology became my source of entertainment. In
high school I dreaded reading. Once I am out of school, I feel as if I will start enjoying reading
again. Creative writing ended for me around the middle years as well. Throughout high school
teachers taught us a specific way to write, which made writing a chore that had to be completed.
Even in college multiple teachers make me write papers and that makes writing a daunting task.
Technology and school both have had an effect on my desires to read and write. Nowadays I stay
away from unless I am required to.
Since a young age reading a writing developed into something important for me. I used
reading and writing as a form a creativity and self-expression. Both of those also became a

source of entertainment but when technology became more apparent, my mind steered towards
technology for enjoyment.