In my literacy narrative part one, I discussed my relationship with writing, specifically my weaknesses and what I did to make for it. The free writing exercise helped me reflect some of my writing experiences. I then summarized my writing habits from the experiences I recalled and made a rough outline. I thought about writing chronologically but eventually decided not to because it was incompatible with the way I wanted to sequence the main ideas. During the process of writing, I found my writing to still be a bit choppy. After reading the literacy narrative, I also realized there are a lot repetition in it. For example, I started a lot of sentences with “I” and used the word “writing” often. I also forgot to mention in the narrative that I usually plan a little bit before I start writing so I know the general direction I’m heading instead of start writing immediately which I don’t think I’m capable of.
“Sometimes in my essay, the train of thought would just abruptly stop, like an AI that lost connection to the internet instead of a human brain.” This is sentence which I thought would be the most interesting because there is a simile in it and the reader might ask why that is case which I am not too sure myself either.
My narrative centered around what I consider my ‘positive feedback loop’ to learning, where I would read in order to fulfill my learning desires, and continuously read and learn more. I’d go as far as to say that my ongoing process of reading and learning not only shapes the way I read and write, but also my personal identity.
Although the cycle seems to be a clear and important part of my life, it would’ve been difficult to discover without the pre-writing process. The pre-writing process wasn’t strange on its own – it was mainly the fact that I had never really engaged in such a process before. However, it was certainly effective in idea generation and getting me into a free-flowing state during writing. I almost wrote my entire narrative in one sitting, without even thinking much about it. The writer’s block that I usually face was entirely eliminated from my writing process.
Throughout my literary narrative, I didn’t necessary learn anything new about myself – it was more so that I learned to appreciate the way my perspective on reading and writing has ebbed and flowed. However, I did find the hindsight bias within myself surprising. Looking back, my evolution in the way I read and write seems so obvious, almost like a linear path. However, the actual process was filled with lots of confusion and wondering whether I’d ever improve in what I was doing.
Ultimately, from an outside perspective, I believe that the most interesting sentence from my essay is: “However, something about this achievement made me feel empty.” With the achievement in question being my commitment to Emory’s men’s soccer team. It was a good hook into the rest of my story which provided a deeper answer to questions that may have arisen from that statement, such as “why would anyone feel empty after completing an otherwise fulfilling/cull-circle achievement?”
Click here to return to my literary narrative.
The habit of watching instead of reading helped me enjoy The Hobbit on screen, but it also masked why I struggled with the book. In writing the narrative I just published, I tried to translate what film gives me “for free” into reading habits I can carry anywhere: slowing down, reading with a pencil, and asking three questions in the margins—what is being said, how it’s being said, and why it matters.
“Watching” a Book
In my literacy narrative: Lighting the Reading Spark, I tell a story of how a trip to my grandparents’ house helped kickstart my reading and writing journey. The simple act of my grandmother buying a book for me and my brother during our trip to visit them in the summer of my third-grade year was much more powerful than I could ever imagine. It completely changed my view on reading, school, and even myself.
I found writing this narrative very enjoyable. By using the free writing style, I was able to put raw Ideas to paper without any guidelines. Going through the prewriting exercise was especially helpful through this process as I was able to encapsulate the same feelings that I had during the trip to my grandparents. I was able to think back to a very positive time in my life when I had no worries or responsibilities.
Through this literacy narrative, I realized how one small moment can influence who I am. This trip from third grade, which I thought nothing of at the time, sparked my interest in reading which also allowed me to become a more confident writer. Before this trip I had thought that writing was just “not my thing” and that I simply wasn’t born with the ability to read well. But I see now that at that moment it just hadn’t clicked yet. I’ve come to realize the same can be true in other areas of my life as well.
The most powerful sentence in my narrative that I think will stand out to readers is “I don’t know if it was the book or the atmosphere I was in that made this moment so memorable”. To me, this line really captures what my narrative is about – It’s not just about the book, but the feeling and the environment that truly made this moment so memorable.
After completing the first draft of my Literacy Narrative I realized that the process of my writing becomes easier when I am able to clearly remember the memory and relate it to things in my current life. While doing he pre-writing exercise it felt weird to start writing and listing random topics because I was not sure that I would be able to dive into a specific one but it ended up benefiting me heavily. While writing I realized that connecting my emotions to how I read and write now has had a great impact on my thought process and the topics I write about. I found it surprising how easily I could write when I was interested and intrigued about explaining my past experiences. Lastly, I think the most relatable thing about my essay is being in trouble at some point in time and picking up a book out of boredem and finding it to be really interesting.
Beginning this narrative, I decided to structure my writing to follow a timeline from childhood to now. By setting up my free writing this way, I was able to tell my story without the pressure of having to have five paragraphs with an introduction and conclusion. At first, writing this narrative felt strange since I was not following the standard essay structure but instead writing and structuring my story based on what felt right. I wrote in a way I felt flowed best and effectively answered the prompts question. As I was writing, I began looking at my different experiences with reading and writing as being more impactful than I initially thought. Since I entered school with no understanding of English, all the effort it took to finally get my reading and writing skills to what they are today made me value these skills greatly. Not wanting all my time and effort to go to waste, I have used these skills to read and educate myself on important topics and then write about them so others can learn as well.
Post link: https://classysweets2dd119bde5-msqzr.wordpress.com/2025/09/09/22/
While completing my literacy narrative assignment, I found it a lot easier since I was telling a story rather than writing an analytical paper. Doing the memory exercise allowed for my writing to have a lot more imagery than it typically would have. I learned that I do enjoy writing essays and that it can be fun, especially when there is less structure. Throughout the paper, I discuss what it was like for me to go to a school that didn’t know how to properly teach students with learning differences. And at the time, as an undiagnosed kid with dyslexic, I had to deal with always feeling behind. I think that someone may think the most interesting sentence from my essay is “From that day on, I missed social studies class for the rest of the year.” Just because even now I’m surprised at the fact that I would have to miss one class in order to catch up on another.
My essay was about how an experience where I was praised in kindergarten for extra effort and that shaped my perfectionism. I talked about how I struggle to submit writing that isn’t up to my high standard, as shown in my essay sentence ‘“Done is better than perfect” is my family’s motto, but no matter how many times I’ve heard it, I’ve never been able to live by it’. This sentence is the most interesting because it is both my hook and a summary of the ideas in my essay.
I enjoyed writing this essay and it helped me realize a lot about my habits as a writer. I realize that one moment had a larger impact on my writing journey than I previously thought. I also learned about what processes help me to write productively, specifically an outline. We were told to do prewriting assignments and they were incredibly helpful. I enjoyed have an outline for my essay because I often write without one and I sometimes struggle to start. Having the list of details from the event itself allowed me to write a more detailed recollection of the event, which I think is more interesting for the reader. Overall, this was an eye-opening assignment for me.
Chasing Rainbows, Chasing Perfection
After writing the rough draft of my essay, I felt oddly refreshed. I had not written in a while, so just going with the flow, writing down whatever came to my mind. I was surprised by how much I had in my mind to put onto my computer, and it really reflected my entire journey for how I came to be the person I am now.
When I was writing my Literary Narrative, I tried to remember influential reading and writing moments in my life. The first thing that came to mind were my non-fiction science books that I used to read when I was very young. Honestly, those books made me realize internally why I wanted to take the comic English so badly. I tried brainstorming an essay about those books but I was not able to come up with enough content to write an essay. My next most influential reading moments were Wonder and Born a Crime: Trevor Noah. I thought deeply about that and realized that those books were the ones that enabled me to change my writing style. I wrote about those books and how they were able to open up my creative mind and enable me to write better and stronger essays.
Link to page: https://aaronnadlerc98ec12471-eqido.wordpress.com/literary-narrative-pt-1/