Literacy History : Alexandra Reyes

 

    Hello, everyone! My name is Alexandra Reyes, and I am a Jersey City native. A little something about me, I am 22 years old, a senior, majoring in finance, and I am second-generation Puerto Rican and Dominican-American. This is my third semester here at NJCU; before coming here, I went to Hudson County Community College and got my associate’s in business (liberal arts). Some of my interests include traveling to different parts of the world, watching anime on my own or with friends, and hanging out as much as possible with my friends and family. One of the many reasons I chose this class is because, in all honesty, I was very curious and wanted to know what it was about. But also, I wanted to expand my knowledge on the issues of American society because most of the understanding of American society that I have comes from learning from others on social media and being able to take that kind of information and find the intersectionalities and the bigger picture of the multitude of issues in American society in the past or in the present. The people in my life who helped and supported me to become literate are my parents and grandparents. However, my grandparents from my mother's side were primarily the ones that inspired me to continue being literate because there was a time when my grandparents were only able to get a 4th-grade education before coming to the United States from Puerto Rico. Some of the ways they helped me were after school, when they would sit with me and help me with my homework. And would also take time out of the day to help me read and write so that I was able to master it. I was always encouraged to become literate in everything that I did.

    In addition, one memory I do remember is being in the 1st grade and having grade-appropriate books, reading the words to my teacher, and being able to understand what the story was about. And when I was young, I remember learning how to write and all of the time it took to get to where I am today. I think all of those experiences had a significant impact on my development; there isn't one that would outweigh the other. At one time, when I was young, I had a lot of trouble when seeing a word or words on paper, having an issue with pronouncing the word or saying it because, in my mind, it was really difficult to say a word that I may have never heard before or know how it is spelled on paper. And how this would occur in or out of school is that it took me a little longer than some other kids to grasp how words would be pronounced or spelled. The time when I began to feel literate was at a young age; it was just that it took me a little longer to become where I am today. The type of activity I enjoyed as a child was when I had the ability to create stories that were from my own perspective, like writing about our family’s history for a class project. Moreover, I would say the act of writing is something I have always enjoyed because it is a way to express my current thoughts and emotions on paper. And having the ability to have an outlet like writing is a perfect tool to express those things. Next, I would say that listening to a person or teacher read to me or the class was something that I enjoyed as well, because for me, I am able to visualize or envision things in my mind since that is the type of learning style that I am most comfortable with. And having those moments where I would visualize and envision what was going on in the text is what makes learning fun sometimes. I think what frustrated me the most as I grew to become more literate was that I wanted to read like all of the kids during those early years of childhood, but as I grew older and even to this day, that type of frustration is completely valid, and it is okay to be a little behind others because there will be a time when what you are learning will make sense and become easier.
    The biggest role models are my grandparents and parents, for the sole reason that they have constantly pushed me to become better at everything that I do. This led me to want to continue my education journey to show that all of the hard work is going to pay off. Not only that, I do all of this for myself and on behalf of my grandparents, who weren't able to get the same opportunity as I did to be in higher education. And that is why I always give the hard work that I do to my grandparents. How I feel about literacy today is that it is very important to constantly become better at it because you are strengthening your skills by becoming a better reader and writer. Being self-sufficient in those two areas can make life ten times easier. Some of the ways I continue literacy in my personal life are by constantly keeping myself updated on the world, whether it is through social media, stumbling on an article about a favorite interest, or what is currently going on in the world. What inspired me in my literacy development, besides my grandparents and parents, is myself, because having that desire to constantly want to continue has led me to where I am today.