Redha Al-Hamoud Professor Jan Rieman English 1101 February 12, 2013 AIR, FIRE, WATER, AND WORDS

Al-Hamoud 1

Once upon a time, I imagined how life would be if it had no words. There would not be any books, letters, magazines, or even twitter. How would a prophet deliver his message to people? How would history be retained? After a while of thinking, I realized that words shape life, and my life was definitely shaped by words.

When I started learning the letters, I always challenged myself to recognize them. I try to guess which letter my mothers name start with; I try to guess the letter that looks like an orange. I finally memorized them all; my first achievement in the literary world. As I was growing up, another challenge came to face me, which is reading an entire word. My mother says that I used to try to read everything that was in front of me. I used to look at the signs that I see from the car window and try to understand what they are saying. I also used to read labels which cover a book, a juice box, or a DVD. These challenges were the first, and I believe I have defeated them.

Another memory from my childhood is bedtime stories. My father and mother took turns to read me and my brother a story before we sleep. When it is my fathers turn, he would read us a purposeful story. A story he repeated many times is the story of a young boy who used to lie. Each day, he would scream and gather the people of his village telling them a wolf is trying to eat him. When people come to rescue him, he would laugh at them and tell them he was lying. One day, the wolf actually came to the village and tried to eat the boy. He cried for help, but no

Al-Hamoud 2 one came because they thought he was lying. This kind of stories taught us great values and principles, and yet, it was enjoyable to hear. My mothers stories were different. She had a package of Islamic stories about the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his family. By telling us these stories, my mother was trying to show us how our leaders life was, and how we should follow his steps in behaving with the people around us. These stories taught us the importance of respecting and satisfying our parents, the importance of balance in our daily life, and the importance of giving without expecting an interest in return. From my personal experience, I believe that bedtime stories are a very effective way to send a message to a child, and should not be underestimated.

When I reached the first grade, I reached the point where I can read a story to myself. I knew what type of stories I like, what kind of characters interests me, and where I can find them. Every time I went to a supermarket with my parents, I would go to the magazines section. It was confusing for me to choose only one magazine especially when there were too many choices. So, I decided to choose a different magazine each time we went. One of the first magazines I read is Mickey Mouse. Although it had a catching design, well-known characters, and entertaining puzzles, I did not like it very much because it was not the type of magazine I was looking for. I was looking for a more informative magazine. The following week, I chose a weekly magazine called Majid, which is the name of the main character. Majid is a character of an Arabic boy who is very intelligent and loved among his friends. His friends have different personalities; some of them are funny, some of them are sport experts, and some are artists. When I started reading the magazine, I was attracted by the variety of sections this magazine has. The first section was called Letters From You. People around the world would

Al-Hamoud 3 sent their letters to these characters wishing to appear on this section. Another section I was interested in was a contest. Each issue, they would publish around 5 questions, which are easy to answer from general knowledge, and people would send their answers hoping to win. Majid magazine had many interesting ideas, and I thought This is the one. I started to buy this magazine every weekend, and wait for the next issue to be published. I would send them a letter each week, and try to solve the questions for a chance to win. After few months of sending letters, Majid finally published my letter and send them me a membership card for special readers. I felt amazing when I read my own writing on the pages of that magazine. The funny thing is that I stopped buying it after my letter was published.

Another source for my readings was school. In Saudi Arabia, every school must have Quran classes. These classes teach students how Quran should be read and understood. In elementary school, teachers assign easy verses for their students to recite and memorize, but as students grow up these classes get more in depth. In intermediate school, Quran classes split into two classes. The first class is about how to read Quran correctly, and the second class is about the story and explanation of verses. These classes introduced me to the holy aspect of literacy. I was able to understand why a certain verse was said by looking through the story behind it. In addition to Quran classes, we had literature classes. When I was in the 9th grade, an unforgettable teacher was my literature instructor. He had a huge amount of information about poets and authors. He knows when a certain poet began his artistic life, or what his first poem was. Although I had a hard time memorizing all of this information he gave in class, I gained a considerable amount of general knowledge.

Al-Hamoud 4 At the same period of time, a new project was started in my school by the student instructor. One of the requirements a student advisor must do is arranging activities that makes school more entertaining to students. The project he started was called The Wall Forum. Any student can post a new discussion topic, and the fun thing was that students can post without mentioning their real names. I was one of the first student to post. My topic was about our need make a student council by electing a group of students by students themselves. My idea was clear, we needed a messenger to send what students needed to school management. Some students were against this thought, but most of the students were supporting it. Later that semester, the principal stated that this was a great idea, and we should do it. Two weeks later, a number of students put their names hoping to be elected, and I was one of them. Surprisingly, I was elected as the leader of the student council. We started by using the recess between classes to make competitions and contests between students. Later on, we published our first issue of Promising Pens, which was the first magazine that was published by our school. I was proud of myself for collaborating with my colleagues and making many achievements in a small period of time. Making the magazine taught me how to make a research to find an interesting topic. It also taught me how to make interviews with powerful personalities, and strangers I just met.

I was inspired by the idea of a forum, and how it benefited me as a student. I started writing and reading in internet blogs and forums. I began to regularly visit the websites that I was more attracted to. Most of them were about technology and art. As a result, everyone around me expected me to have the latest news about technology. Then, Facebook started, which was a revolutionary step in the social networking industry. I began to update my status,

Al-Hamoud 5 write short stories, or share interesting readings. My friends on Facebook would respond by commenting which helped me see their opinions and improve.

Although internet was there, I did not learn the strategies of writing until I came to the U.S. Last year, I graduated from high school, and I had to plan my future. There were many options I can choose from, but I chose to apply for a scholarship to the U.S. Fortunately, I was admitted to the scholarship program, but I had to choose a state, a city, and an English institute. I looked all over the internet to find a strong program located in a nice place. My search resulted in choosing California State University in Los Angeles. When I arrived, it felt like a dream; it was the first time for me to travel alone. I started the program few weeks later, and it was an amazing program. Donna Byun was my writing teacher who extremely helped me how to write in American English. Her class was very interesting and I used to look forward for her class session. Byun knew how to deliver the information in a fun way, but unforgettable. Now, I have all of this information and tips that I can share with my friends who just started learning English.

Finally, I cannot ever imagine how my life would be if all of these experiences did not exist. I would not be the person I am if I did not interact with words all my life. I can see words in every aspect of life. Words are there whenever I read a story, watch a movie, or even chat with my friends. Words are powerful, and that is how it shaped my life.