Raymond Galicia

UWRT
September 12, 2014
Read, Love, Write
I was told at a young age that reading is one of the most important skills you can
have in the world. I was always taught that reading and being able to comprehend what
you read is such a valuable skill. Being literate doesnt just mean being able how to read.
Being literate means knowing what you are reading and what it means. This lesson was
always stressed in my home. I was taught to be literate in everything and everything
meant menus to computers to books. Being literate made me feel like I was
accomplishing something and that I was on my way to becoming someone smart.
Growing up my family encouraged reading. Reading was such a staple in our
house that it did not feel like homework when I had to do it for school. I would always be
read to before bed and was occasionally made to read a book on my own. The books I
was given to by my parents were always good. Some people dread reading but at home it
was a fun thing. Every night I was read a chapter of a book or a short story. My favorite
book was named "The Kissing Hand." The story was about a mother raccoon kissing the
paw of her child. The child would put his paw up to his face whenever he would feel
homesick. This story helped a lot when I started school. On the first day of kindergarten,
I did not want to go. I remember being calmer than other kids but I was still was nervous
about my Mom leaving be behind in the classroom. Some parents had to stay with their
children because they could not handle being by themselves in a room with strangers. My

mom kneeled to the ground kissed my hand and told me "If you feel scared, just put your
hand to your cheek and know that I love you." After this I felt comforted and was ready
for my first day of school. The book was given to use to ease separation anxiety in the
first years of school. The book helped a great deal and to this day my Mom brings up the
story. She even brought it up when she and my Dad dropped me off at college. When she
left my dorm she held up her hand and I did too. By finding comfort in this story, I found
comfort in other books. After I knew reading could make me feel at peace, I kept on
reading other books that made me feel content. I read a lot of chicken soup for the soul
when I was younger. These books were made up of real life stories about struggles and
lifes challenges. These stories helped me through what ever I was going through by
relating to the authors. Reading more and more books helped me become literate and
understand the content of stories better. By reading more you learn more. I learned more
vocabulary and learned how to use context clues even better.
When you first learn how to read and actually know what you are reading, it
excites you. I feel like every child goes through the phase where you want to read
everything. As a child I would read every sign going down the highway. My family
would love taking road trips down to Texas; it would always be a great opportunity to
read signs. I would read every state sign that we would cross but my favorite one would
be Mississippi. It was so much fun to spell and say! I'm sure my family found it annoying
but I found it fun. Saying I became literate through reading menus is weird but it worked!
I became aware of new words by reading menus. I would love going out to different
cultural themed restaurants and reading their menus. Menus usually have a section
explaining some type of cultural event or ritual. Spanish was the main language spoken at

my house, but even reading the menu at a Mexican restaurant helped me learn more about
my language. On the front of the menu there was a section explaining how a lot of the
dishes were brought over when the Spanish conquered Mexico. Knowing English and
Spanish makes me literate in two languages. Being able to read and write in Spanish as
well as in English is a pretty cool thing. I remember being about six years old and going
to a family friends restaurant. I took the menu and read all that I could off of it. I went
around and asked everyone at the table what they wanted and to say it in Spanish.
Reading the Bible played a huge role in my literacy journey. My favorite thing
during church was picking up the Bible and opening it to a random spot. My family and
cousins would always sit together in the pews, and the Bible would be right there in front
of us. I would do this when I was younger because my attention span would decline as
the pastor started speaking. I remember the Bible being a heavy, leather book. I would
read the verses but there would be a lot of words that I did not understand. When I would
come across these words I would ask my Mom for help. A couple words still trip me up
sometimes. Some words I had trouble with were mammon, emulation, and hearken. One
of my favorite Bible Verses is Joshua 1:9. The verse reads, "Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your
God will be with you wherever you go." Being literate when it comes to the bible is so
hard to do. Its filled with a lot of metaphors. Im still learning on the way and theres a
long way to go.
A big part of becoming literate happened in school. Teachers giving mandatory
papers to write have taught me the importance of the meaning behind a story.

Teachers would often assign mandatory readings. In elementary school the books would
be easy and easy to follow. Those kinds of books were my favorite! I loved reading Dr.
Seuss, Junie B. Jones, and those old fairytale stories. My kindergarten teacher would
make us fill out reading logs each week. Reading and filing out the logs came with such a
satisfying feeling. Looking back on all the books I read throughout the week made me
feel like I accomplished something. It was like I set a goal, and I reached it with success.
At the end of the year, whoever read the most books would win a medal. I would always
get the gold! By making us fill out logs, my teacher helped me become more literate
because it would encourage me to read even after the logs were over. Receiving a medal
for reading was a great incentive. Knowing that I would get a prize for reading motivated
me to keep on reading. The books started as tiny storybooks and eventually grew to
chapter books.
As the years went by and the books we read got harder, we actually had to start
writing about them. Having to write book reports were such a drag in school. The books
werent hard to read; the bad part was analyzing all of your thoughts and putting them
onto paper. In the end writing the report wasn't as bad as it seemed. I feel like by having
to write papers on books it helped me better understand what I was reading. Writing book
reports helped with my literacy because it helped me comprehend what was in the book. I
would go into deeper into the story when I knew that I had to answer questions on what I
was reading. Having questions to answer makes you really look into the story and search
for the things that you need. Being graded on how well you read something was a big
motivator for me. In high school getting good grades was everything. By having to read
and write about books, it taught me the value of what was behind the story. Every English

teacher I had made us look for a theme that a story had. When we read Edgar Allen Poes
The Raven, we had to figure out what the ravens meaning was in the story. We had to
look beyond the story and see what the actual meanings of things were. Having to
analyze what the story meant helped a lot with my literacy. Looking in between the lines
was always encouraged and was the number one thing when reading a story.
Nothing is more important than being literate. Learning how to read and write is
one of the most valuable things I was taught. Reading is one of my favorite pastimes and
it's one of the most important things in my life. Reading has taught me so much, not only
how to communicate but also how to comprehend. I have learned so many valuable facts
by reading. Learning how to write played a huge part in my life. It showed me that
writing is an important way to communicate. Thanks to my Mom, Dad and Teachers for
showing me how to love a book.