Literacy Narrative Essay: Reading Books

I remember how over the summer we had to keep Reading Logs. I read over 60 books in one summer. I would read non-stop, for hours on end until I had finished the novel, or finished the series. I spent so much time reading and would completely envelope myself into whatever plot I had chosen to succumb to for the day. Books were my safe haven. They provided an escape to a comparatively boring life; one that completely lacked certain creatures, certain people, the certain friends that could only be brought to life via the vivid hallucinations that one has and feels when reading the words off a well-written page. My memory fades as I grow older, but the influence of all those different plots remains implanted into my very being. Reading all sorts of books instilled in me the value of a storyline. They instilled in me the value and power of emotion. Of feeling. Reading books while growing up, I think, helped teach me about the varying complexities of humanity in ways that one simply can’t experience in real life. They taught me to take control of my own life. I am my own life’s author. Books may works of fiction, but that doesn’t make the reading experience any less real. Books are a powerful and good escape to the horrors of our reality.

I’m in Japan. Downtown Tokyo. Train station. I’m sitting on top of my suitcase. It’s probably in the mid-nineties. I’m 10. Ugh. It’s so hot; I’m sweating. My dad brings us back a bento box with tempura and a perfectly cut ham sandwich. Two triangles of perfect looking white-bread. Crust is cut off. Japanese bento boxes are the best thing ever. Dad hands me a bottle of water. I’m so thirsty. I finish the bento box and bottle of water in record time. And then I go back to what I’d been doing in our waiting time between modes of transportation. Little House of the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  This is one of my most vivid memories while being in Japan. Traveling throughout the country and reading all her books. They took up a majority of my time in the first couple weeks of my 2 month stay in Japan.

I’m in our green Toyota mini van. We’re passing through Portland on our way to San Diego. The landscape outside is rolling hills of golden wheat. It’s a beautiful sight. The air conditioning is on, so we’re all at a perfectly comfortable temperature. I read through book after book on the 23 hour ride down to San Diego. I think it’s been 45 minutes and it’s been 6 hours. I cry a couple times. Reading in the car to pass the hours away.

I think it was The Phantom Tollbooth by Jules Feiffer. They were about to confront another intense riddle and all I remember is being shaken violently on my shoulder by my little sister.

“CHARLOTTE. DINNER TIME.”

I had been reading so intensely that I did not hear my name that had been being called for the past 5 minutes straight. I didn’t even have headphones on or anything. It almost feels like I’m hallucinating when I’m reading; I get so into the plot. Does that happen to you?

I don’t know how to begin to describe the feeling of living in a book. And I must confess, I seem to have lost my creative energy for reading. Not to say that it can’t be gotten back. But I miss the nights where I could be so enthralled by a plot that I stay up all night to finish reading it. I would argue that reading books keeps the mind sharp. In order to correctly read a book you must be able to get into the a plot. You must be able to relate to the characters and feel with and for them as a friend and as a helpless bystander. You can only read and watch as the story unfolds before you.

Reading a lot of books exposes you to the spectrum of human emotion. It makes you really think about the complexities between all of the characters. You become friends with them. At least that’s how it feels to me. It’s an experience. You can feel different lives. You can feel the intense sorrow of death. You can feel the heat of love and flirtation. You can feel and understand desperation and see how the inner workings of maniacs and villians and heroes and heroines work. You get know know the minds of so many people that you never thought you would.  It is an experience. Books can be life-shaping and life-changing. It’s beautiful.

Books and their stories have been there for me and in my darkest times. I’m not going to talk about how much they help the rest of the world since this is more of a personal narrative assignment. That said. Depression is a human thing. I’d argue that Humans suffer from Depression. Depression has taken the lives of countless individuals and it’s devastating that we as a society don’t discuss mental health issues in a brighter, more open-minded and cooperative light. All this said, I think books are a very powerful, therapeutic tool. Like I stated before, books transport the mind to a different place. They give you a break from our own heartbreaking reality. On bad days I’d force myself out of bed eventually, make my way to the shower. Then I’d kick back with a cup of tea and a good book and just lose myself.

I have lost my love of reading in the past couple years. High school really just takes that out of you if you’re not careful. Reading doesn’t become a leisure activity. It becomes required and it becomes a painful activity that you are dragged to do. At least that’s how it was in my case. And since then, my attention span has gotten worse. I haven’t read a book for fun in ages and because of that I think my mind has untrained itself to sustain prolonged period of thought like that. I need to retrain my brain. I am a walking warning to other growing children and even adults. My depression has gotten worse because of this. My inability to read a book. I told my psychologist one time that I wouldn’t be the mess that I am today if I could get into a book like I could when I was younger. I’m not sure what the problem is. But it vexes me. I miss the nights where I could be so enthralled by a plot that I would stay up the whole night just to finish it.

Reading provides a healthy, powerful and decidedly GOOD escape for all individuals, but me specifically. Books have traveled with me all over the world and the characters have been my companions in the darkest of places. I’ve been able to completely envelop myself in a book to the point where I can’t hear anything going on around me and when the only time I’m brought back to reality is when I take a break to find a box of tissues to wipe the tears from my bawling eyes. I miss those times and hope to retrain my brain back to that level of intensity. Books taught me how to be a sensitive human. They taught me how to be the evilest of villains. They taught me how to take control of my own soul and create my own destiny.

In-class lab 10/27: summary of ad, paraphrase and quote

http://www.jameswon.ca/node/9

Summary: Combines two extremes: disturbing violence with pictures of children. This shows more powerfully the negative effects of a stereotypically ‘innocent’ individual like a child being corrupted by violent imagery. showing these two kinds of images side by side contrasts something so negative and something so innocent in a way that incites feelings of protection and fear for young children in the viewer.

Paraphrase: When children are exposed to violent media, they can become violent themselves.

Quote: “Well over a 1000 studies...point overwhelmingly to a causal connection between media violence & aggressive behavior in some children”

1. James Won is the creator of the ad.
2. It is intended for parents and guardians to show how violent media effects children and how it isn’t harmless like they might think to show children frightening movies at a young age.
3. We can tell because it involves children and toys and how the child watching violent TV can show them to do violent acts.
4. The purpose is to warn parents that violent TV can really affect their children and they want to change the way violent media is viewed/their attitude towards the violent TV that children are accessible to.
5. They work towards their purpose with powerful imagery and a knowledgeable quote that draws a scientific line between what their trying to prove and what they’re trying to get people to believe.
6. Red and black writing, very jagged, gives the whole ad a very ‘dangerous’ kind of feel. They use small children and children's toys mixed with very violent images, kind of destroying this idea of innocence within them.
7. As a group, these ads try to change the general public's’ attitude towards media violence to one that is not so casual with it because in our society, they’d argue at least, that media violence leads to greater numbers of children with overly aggressive behavior.  

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In-Class Lab pages 138/141

PAGE 138:

Decision in past year	How life was affected	info. gathered beforehand
move out?	tension with parents. but realization that I need to be able to stand up on my own two feet.	did math to figure out how much I need to save.
stay in school?	more tension with parents. but realization that I need a break from school right now and that I can always come back to it.	weighing pros and cons to staying in school.
do I go on a run/go play soccer?	making this decision is me deciding how healthy I want to be. it affects my health in all aspects (mental, emotional, physical). soccer is my outlet. the fact that I have to decide whether I want to go play soccer tells me that I’m not that passionate about it.	no info. gathered

what should I have for breakfast?	this decision affects the outcome of the beginning of my day. If I have a banana, then I start my day off pretty energized, but only for a couple hours.	what is a healthful breakfast.
should I go out tonight?	this decision affects my sleep time. which affects my overall state of health. if I go out every night then I lose sleep and it hurts me.	figure out what my plans are for the next day.
do I keep seeing my psychologist?	this will affect every aspect of my life potentially. It forces me to questions whether I still keep seeing him, like whether I actually need to or not.	weigh the pros and cons of seeing my psychologist. (con: remaining semi-dependent on a person)

This chart tells me I am an indecisive person. I still haven’t made the first two decisions and the last one I make that decision everyday. Sometimes I do the right thing and go on a run or go play soccer, and other times I don’t and choose to stay inside. Which doesn’t make it a worse decision, in all honesty… It does tell me that I can prioritize my comfort over my overall health though. I need to go on a run everyday. This chart also tells me that I am willing to do the work however to figure out where I need to go. I did the math and I'm beginning to budget in order to work towards moving out of my parent's home.

PAGE 141:

The two consumer-oriented websites that I chose were Yelp and Zomato (formerly Urbanspoon). These are restaurant rating websites and apps. Zomato is the go-to website for restaurant enthusiasts. It provides well-written reviews and people can take pictures of the food and post it to the website. Yum! Yelp on the other hand is a multi-use application and website. It not only gives you ratings and reviews on restaurants near you, it helps you find other things to do besides eat! Both of the applications and websites are well-formatted, I must say. They're both phenomenal rating and reviewing applications and websites, but I prefer Yelp simply because it goes above and beyond what you can do with Zomato. That said, Zomato is preferred by restaurant enthusiasts.

In-Class Lab - Literacy Narrative

1. Visual Description: “She was unable to shut the door against the brown rushing water. Horrified, she tried not to panic. Seeking higher ground, she climbed on top of her dining room table. It, like most of her furniture, had been handed down from her grandparents. The table was bulky and heavy; normally, it took three men to move it.” (paragraph 7, page 129/130)
2. Dialog: “I told them. however, that when I tried to confirm the rumor with the many recruiters who rang my cell phone, they’d say the only sure way to avoid another call-up was to join their unit, because they have non-deployable slots available well suited for someone like me, and would I like to join them?” (paragraph 10, page 119)
3. Sensory Descriptions: “Entering the large VFW hall, we were struck by the chemical odor of a cleaning solution so strong that it seemed toxic. The hall had no windows; only fluorescent lighting illuminated the large. Coming from the hot, humid weather outdoors, we found the inside uncomfortably cold from air conditionings. The cackle of television set was the only sound.” (paragraph 2, page 128)
4. Possible Topics:
1. I could write about the first ‘research paper’ I ever wrote. which was about my family tree. I could talk about the process (interviewing family. drafts on drafts on drafts.)
2. I could write about how/why I journal.
3. I could write about how/why I write poetry. I could write about fear of sharing artistry with others. Delve into that issue.
5. Purpose: I’d like to tell this story because I think it would be good for me to think back to that time of my life. It involved learning a lot about my family and its history which is interesting and I think would appeal to my fellow classmates. I can explore my past learning this way as well.
6. Audience: I think my audience will be receptive to this narrative. I won’t have to do that much extra explaining to them because it’s a pretty straight-forward idea. I’m willing to share everything with my audience. Ha ha.
7. Stance: I want to project a relatively neutral tone, I guess. Descriptive tone. I want the audience to know what my process was when I wrote the research paper. I wish to be sincere and serious, maybe a slight amount of humor. I want my readers to see me as a friendly, but studious homie who is dedicated to her family.
8. Media/Design: My narrative will be shared on paper. It will be written in size 12 font, Times New Roman.
9. Places QUESTIONS 9-13
1. My house
1. The walls are white. It’s kind of messy. Mail lies on the table. Coffee is being made. It’s a cozy setting and I’m sitting at the dining table, calling up relatives. I have note cards with questions on them for each person. I hear the coffee pot bubbling. I smell the carnitas that my dad is making in a CrockPot. Yum. I am content, but also nervous because I am calling up my elders. I don’t wanna come off rude, but they’re kind of old and I have trouble hearing them sometimes.
2. My school
1. My teacher helps up with the assignment day by day, week by week. We work diligently some days and other days we’re just goofing around. I hear the chatter of other kids as they go about their work day. I smell the lavender perfume of my teacher as she sits across from me, reviewing my first draft. I’m happy because I think I did well on the draft.
3. The library
1. It’s a quiet setting. There are tables strewn around the various rooms. Another cozy setting. I’m at one of the computers and I’m writing at a vicious pace because I’m in a zone. I hear the quiet shuffle of feet as people pass by me. I hear the clack of the keys on the keyboard as I write with a newfound vigor. I really like this assignment.
14. Describing People:
1. Mom: She smells like mom. Her face is friendly. She’s plump, and her face is really cheery.
2. Dad: He smells like tobacco pipe. It’s a comforting smell. His face reminds me of my dog, Paco. Which is not a bad thing.
3. Candice: She smells like chlorine because she’s swims. She walks with near perfect posture. She has olive skin and dark brown eyes. She’s a bitch. I love her.
4. Samantha: She’s white. The  whitest, up there with my brother, Marvin. She’s got hazel eyes and likes to cause trouble.
5. Sidney: He’s got hazel eyes as well.
15. I’ll look at the questions I asked my relatives and write them down in the narrative.
16. I wrote a family tree research paper. It took me over 6 months to do. I pondered. I laughed. I questioned. I learned. I wrote passionately. Sometimes hurriedly if I had to make a deadline.
17. The significance of this paper is that it’s the first serious research paper I ever conducted. It was with this paper that I really learned about all the correct ways to write. All the formalities. I also learned a lot about my family. My grandparents were really proud of me here which meant a lot to me as well. I think this paper helped to bring my family closer at a young age. (Because of interviews and questions… a 6 month process, if not more.)

Response to Classmates Definition of "Being Rhetorical"

My classmates and I had similar definitions on what Rhetoric meant and how it can be acted out in life. We all agreed that to be rhetorical means to have an open mind and do your research and write to appeal to an audience. My definition of Rhetorical wasn't changed that much simply because we all had similar definitions of what it meant.

Thinking and Acting Rhetorically Response

Rhetoric is the use of language to convey your thoughts and feelings on any given topic. If you can use Rhetoric correctly and effectively then you know how to write correctly and effectivity. Rhetoric and good writing come hand in hand, in my opinion. Knowing how to use Rhetoric means you know how to communicate effectively. And in an increasingly interconnected world, good communication skills is key for progression. Rhetoricians are in short, 'sophisticated communicators.' Rhetoric and good writing each have their own guidelines, but are, in my opinion, very similar. Basically writing and rhetoric both require that you think about your audience. You must clearly understand their potential point of views and write to appeal to them in whatever way you want. I'm saying that if you want to write to change their minds or to appeal to their minds, you must first understand their mindset. Acting rhetorically "can change our minds, earn our agreement, and shape our identities and lives,' all through effective, ethical communication. It sounds simple, because it is simple. To act rhetorically means to think about how you want to come across to others (your audience). You need to think about them, your tone towards to them, what points you want to get across... You need to ask yourself all the questions that we read in Chapter 2 (The Need for Rhetoric and Writing) in order to write and act rhetorically. Open-mindedness is a part of writing and acting rhetorically. Because with an open mind you can more better get a message across to an audience because you will be ready and willing to understand them as you expect them to be ready and willing to understand you.

Rhetorical Situations - Narratives

2.

•   For the first question, we all said that the main point was the essence of hope and determination, and that it was stated in the last paragraph.
•   For the second question it was primarily Lydia’s point of view. It made us feel scared for her life.
•   Third. terrified,destroyed: used to put the reader into a state of fear. Could feel the hope in how she kept fighting to survive. “cramped on the shelf of the linen closet” “had an abscessed tooth”
• Anyone who’s interested in health affairs/life changing stories. sophisticated people who know about disasters. the tone helps cause a movement for help through sympathizing.

3. Jan Brideau used the rhetoric that we learned about in chapter two to write Lydia’s Story. She kept her audience in mind, that they’re going to be people who are more sympathetic to victims of natural disasters like hurricanes. Her primary goal was to affect the emotions of the readers and to give people courage and motivation. Jan uses descriptive words to affect her tone. It made me think about how I can use descriptive words to affect my audience. Charlotte said that you have to portray your attitude towards the topic for your audience using rhetoric and the guidelines from the book.

7. Stories about car crashes, friends, co-workers, crazy cats/dogs

10. Think about friends who are part LGBT community and how hard it is for them to just be themselves.

You don’t have to be afraid to be yourself-message to everyone

the different emotions and aspects of the people

12. Video-see the raw emotion

Text-have to use words to portray emotion/more time to think over what you want to say

Video to text- lose some affect bc you don’t know the words to explain the emotion

Text to video-like a play; have to determine the emotions

The tone would change: how you were affected would change