I choose you, my family

Introduction

            I will begin my journey here. This paper let me express who I was through my thoughts on what literacy is to me. I expressed my views through my family and the ways we do and say certain things, basically our character as a whole. Throughout my life I showed how my experiences with literacy played a major role in the person I’ve become today.

Being the first paper of the semester, this is where I first introduced myself as a writer. Not exactly sure of where I would fit in or how exactly I would express myself with little to no judgment, this paper introduced me, Shavéone. I wanted to start the blog with where I began so it can be seen how I will hopefully grow as a writer.

In this paper I tried accomplishing being able to connect with my readers in a way that my experiences were somehow similar or exactly the same as their own. I wanted them to read my paper and know exactly where I was coming from and know exactly what I was trying to say. If they were not able to connect to the message given I was hoping they would learn from my experiences and tell them to others.

I’ve learned that everything around us can be interpreted in many different ways reflecting on how a certain person has grown up or their surroundings. I wouldn’t change anything in this paper, because then my introduction wouldn’t have been the same.

Shavéone Fagan         

Professor Mundy

English

October 6, 2011

Literacy Autobiography

Literacy, is there a true meaning to this word? Everyone has their own experiences discovering what literacy truly is. The problem then comes when you are growing up and people are directing you in learning the “right” meaning of the word. You’re left confused and not sure what is the “right” way to interpret the meaning of this word.

            Growing up my first experience with literacy was with my mother’s husband, who is from Jamaica. I’ve grown up with him from the time I was about five years old, so I was always used to him speaking Patois. Patois is the language spoken in Jamaica, which is considered broken English. Certain people would ask me if I understood what he was saying; I would always say yes and look at them funny. To them he was speaking a completely different language like Spanish. It really hit me when he used to make me call the kids parents from his soccer team to remind them of practices or games or when he would make me type up emails for him. I began to understand that what he believes to be the right way of saying a word or a phrase is completely different from the way America perceives to not be the “right” way.

 It was the hardest concept to grasp for me because; this was a man that was the most intelligent man I think I will ever meet in my life. Just because of the way he talked, wasn’t the right or accepted way.

 Another experience I’ve had is watching my family. All of my family is from a Caribbean island, majority is from Barbados. When we get around each other, we put on our Bajan accents and speak fluently. Instead of speaking comfortably like we do when we’re all around each other, when we get into the real world we put on a front and speak proper or how we hear everyone speaking. There may be an occasionally mispronouncing or misusage of a word, but just to fit in with society; feel like an equal that is what is needed to be done.

            Anytime anyone from my family is talking on the phone to a credit card company or talking to a company, they lose their culture and transform into what everyone is used to.

            This is the biggest problem I have with literacy. I feel as you move away from home or what you are used to, people tend to transform to become exactly like what is around them. If you transform you lose your culture, because you are too busy trying to please society you change who you are.

 Losing your culture is like losing who you are, there’s no originality. America is supposed to be a place where all the cultures meet, and share their specialties and things of that sort. But if everyone is trying to speak and act the “right” way as determined by America, we lose who and what we are.

            The place that really tries to make sure everyone is following the “right” way of things is school. From the time you’re in pre-school or kindergarten till 12^th grade and beyond, you are taught the proper way to write, speak, etc. You have little freedom to be who you really are. When writing a paper you have guidelines, you turn in a paper and get back a grade. Sometimes you feel you’ve typed the best paper ever, but your grade might say otherwise.  If you’re supposed to be you and express yourself in your writing, how can you do that with all the restrictions? 

 Literacy is interpreted in different ways, depending on whom you are and where you come from. The more u distance yourself from what you grew up knowing to be true the less you are your true self and the less you represent your culture.




I am a Bajan 

The above link is a song titled “I am a Bajan” by an artist from Barbados named Rupee. Barbados is the Caribbean Island where the majority of my family is from. I chose this song because it represents my culture. I am proud of who I am no matter what society deems as the right way to do or say certain things. Rupee says,

“I am ah Bajan, I'm ah Bajan
Where ever I roam or I go
I will let them know
No matter whatever I say, or I do”

Those lyrics support my paper the best because not only is he accepting who he is he’s letting you know no matter where he goes or who he talks to he will be proud of where he came from. Our culture is what makes us who we are.