Autobiographical Writing - Literary Life Story

Callie Lycar
Sept 30th

When I was younger about nine or ten I found a box of Garfield comic
books in the back of my eldest sisters closet. I was hooked. I read through
every comic book she had, every comic book the school library had, and
even every comic book the public library had. It must have been the poor
spelling tests I started bringing home but something changed and my Mother
put her foot down, no more Garfield until I read a full novel. From a formative
side however I did not understand how these comic books were impeding my
literary learning, and only conceded to her request because I ran out of
supply of new comics. However her assumptions were correct, I could read
and I could read quite well I was simply lazy.
That is when I met Harry Potter. Thanks to the suggestion of my best
friend Alix I started reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerers
Stone. I thought Jim Davies knew what he was doing with a sassy
orange cat, J.K Rowling opened up my juvenile mind to the magical
world of imagination. It was not a gradual change but a drastic
one and Harry Potter was just the beginning. My literary world
began to rapidly expand and develop. I became that child who fell
asleep reading with the book on her face. I snuck flashlights under
the blankets so I could just find out what was going to happen next. Each
novel was a new experience and a new adventure. I met the Magician and
his nephew before going through the wardrobe myself. I was distraught over
the events of the Baudelaire children. I saw Alice on the other side of the
looking glass and Ive seen the beauty in a Milkweed. The characters in the
books I read became three dimensional; I learn from their experiences.
Especially within a series in which the reader is really able to grow and learn
with the characters they bring to life. These literary characters began to
influence and effect the moral decisions I would make on a daily basis. I
modelled myself off of the characters I aspired to be like; smart, witty,
abnormal, pretty. Literary influences that I divulged myself into as a child still
help me define who I am today.

Unfortunately my confidence in reading did not transfer over to my

writing and I struggled for years to make my mark in the literary world.
Another tactic my mother used to try and improve my literacy skills (yes, this
was during the Garfield stage) was to keep a nightly journal and write about
each day before I go to bed. This was great practice until I would just write
the same sentence every night; I woke up. I went to school. I played with my
friends. My nine year old mind lacked the creative juices and literary
expertise to come up with anything I felt like anyone else would want to
read. Sadly this way of thinking followed me throughout my schooling. I
never appreciated what I put down on a page and that lack of appreciation
fueled low confidence as a language arts student.
In class I never took the time to review and reflect on the teacher or
peer assessments of my work. I felt as though any marks or circles on my
paper meant that I had already failed and that there was no reason in trying
harder. Also I set myself up with high expectations, if I received anything
lower than the grade I told myself to achieve I shut down. There is no one to
blame but myself, however I think it is fair to say that I do not feel as though
I had enough support and affirmation from my language arts teachers in my
earlier stages of literary development to fully inspire my true potential. I
hope to take my personal experience as a learning lesson and try my hardest
to give reassurance to my students that failing, or a correction on a paper, is
simply a part of learning.
Throughout high school and the first couple years of my university
career I studied Spanish as a second language. Having to learn everything
about a language with an already prior existing language is extremely
enlightening. I look at languages in general in a completely different light;
they are the most primitive tools of a culture. Social Constructivist Lev
Vygotsky believed that language is important to the construction of a culture,
that culture then shapes children, and they in return develop knowledge,
ideas, and values is accomplished through interaction; I completely agree
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with him. Language is the ultimate human tool that leads us to interactions
and greater knowledge specific to each cultures practices. Now with a
greater respect for literacy than I ever had before I was even more selfconscious about my writing. Especially as it seemed to be getting worse as I
started mixing up Spanish and English spellings; mostly with the
vowels a and e. I felt as a University student my writing skills
should be getting better not worse. Personal determination sounds
great and all but sometimes it can be a very humbling notion. What
really helped was reflection; I had started taking some Philosophy
classes. It intrigued me that a class could have an hour long discussion on
the meanings of words; what is moral, just, fair? I was
beginning to realize that language has a powerful
importance when it was properly conveyed.
Finally finding reasons to enjoy words and writing I was determined to
be confident in what I was handing in to my professors. I always loved the
idea of being the teacher at the front of the room so naturally I preferred to
please my teachers rather than displease them; receiving poor grades on
written assignments continued to deteriorate my confidence in writing. I will
admit the first several papers were not a success and I felt horrible thinking
that my Professors thought less of me as an individual because of a few
grammatical errors. Thanks to my ambition, determination, as courage to ask
for help I was able to properly convey my understandings in writing. My
writing my not be A+ material but I am at a place where I feel more
confident handing in my work to be assessed and graded.
Reading continues to be a passion of mine, especially whenever I get
to put down a textbook and read something fantastic. I still enjoy reading
fantasy but every now and then I crave a fictional story; somebody elses
words of wisdom on how to deal with the life problems that take place in this
universe. I enjoy the advancements made in eBooks and I thoroughly enjoy
the easy instant access I have to the book I am reading right there on my

tablet. I carry around an electronic bookshelf with me all the time and that is
a common acceptance within my social circles. Advancements in technology
have made literacy more available and I would argue more important as well.
I use most forms of literacy in my day to day life. I check Facebook in the
morning off of my smart phone, I read my agenda to remind myself of my
busy day, I write emails to my bosses and co-workers. As a teacher of a
languages arts classroom I will also try my hardest to allow my students to
use various forms of literacy to express themselves. Languages and the
ability to be literate have further expanded my world through obvious
reasons but they have also allowed me to think for myself, cry with
compassion at the end of books, imagine possible projects before I start
them, and share countless ideas in hundreds of languages. Literacy opens up
so many opportunities to learn, communicate, and grow; it is limitless.
A better understanding of literacy allows individuals to be more Ethical
Citizens. We will listen more if we understand that we will have a chance to
speak. We are able to read more because we can connect with so many more
writers. We can share all forms of art digitally so that millions can view them
at the same time. We are becoming more globalized without effort.
Throughout the globe literacy is forcing individuals to advance,
communicate, and share millions of ideas. Personally I know in my past few
years as a student I have had the opportunity to read and study the thoughts
and views of other people before I have considered my own. I am not
discrediting self-reflection, I have learned to know how important it is, but I
am accepting that the best chance to grow is to listen to the ideas of others.
I will never be able to forget where I was the day that I finished reading
the Harry Potter series, it is a moment of literacy that truly effected who I
was as an individual. Not because it was a series that I had been reading for
a decade but because I felt as though I was a part of the wizarding world.
Good literacy has the capability of doing that to an audience; making them
apart of a world that exists through the collective imagination. The literary

devices such as movies and novels that I have associated with as a child
connected me with hundreds of other individuals who were able to go
through a similar experience. Without leaving the comfort of my own home I
was able to share hundreds of experiences with thousands of other readers,
including my best friend who moved to the other side of the country.
Reading, writing, viewing, and sharing personally connects individuals with
common beliefs and values. As I continuously try to improve my writing skills
I feel as though I am forever growing within the literary community. I will
never stop practicing my literary skills and as I start to consider myself as a
professional I feel it is important to constantly remember that words written
or said create a lasting impact on the audience.

Instead of a selfie I chose to include these two photos:

The second is of us
The first is of

again thirteen years

my first day of

later, she has been

Grade One

a driving force in

and my Best

my education

Friend Alixs

career and as I said

first day of

earlier the reason I

feel in love with

In the past three years Alix has been all over the world; Halifax,
Ontario, Jerusalem, Spain and Paris. No matter the distance thanks to literacy
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we were able to share important moments with each other. We skyped, sent
letters, wrote emails and texts. To be honest for me literacy means that no
matter how far we are we will always stay connected.

Writing Process of Callie

-

First I read over the assignment and chose which path I was going to

take: Life Story

I re-read all what was expected of my for my Life Story
I started drafting in point form on a piece of paper what key points I
would want to include in my Life Story
o I included moments in my life that I attach some sort of

emotional attachment too. Good or Bad

Banned from Garfield
Alix introducing me to Harry Potter
Low Confidence in writing skill
Spanish as a second Language
Peeked Interest in language and its influencial power
Ability to feel Confident in my reading and writing skills
How literacy is in everything we do
It is ok to always be learning
Then I started typing, just free flow typing on the computer, starting a

new line every time I had a new thought

I read through everything that I had typed and started organizing my

thoughts to match the key points that I thought of earlier

I will Usually create a thought web to further continue a Main topic with

all my key thoughts clearly supporting it

Then I finished typing; re-reading and editing out loud as I go along
Print out a copy and go over it with a red pen
Finally fix all my edits from my print out to the computer
PRINT!
Writing Process of Callie the Teacher

Free flow thought process to warm up thinking and fingers

Try to keep all key ideas close to a main topic

Being able to have the students print out their work and edit on a piece
of paper gives them another medium to work off of and might help

them catch mistakes

Personally I am finding it extremely hard to write about myself in a
formal manner. I want to use incorrect grammar and silly words. So
with that feeling I am going to note that maybe as a teacher of writing
I will not expect a personal formative piece from my students unless
they choose to represent themselves in that manner.