post #8

my narrative...hope you like it.

When the topic of writing and what it means to you came up, it took me back to a simpler time. It took me to a place where I didn’t have walls or shields up. A place where I was whoever I wanted to be and the world was my canvas to write up whatever hot story would take the peoples breath away. To me writing gave focus and a different path away from the streets. That focus gave me the will and the power to help others and be the young man that I am today. Thinking back I have many stories that stand out to me but a few especially come to mind.
I can go back to my very first encounters with literature and all its different actions. Starting with my strict training on spelling and reading from my mother and her close friends. Those were the first lessons I had Growing up and even though they were tough and sometimes upset me I always pressed on. Later on I found that I always had a knack for literature it just needed to be brought out. My grade school memories were of me in gifted and talented classes with others who had the same drive and ambition as I did. Although I was smart and ha d a good view on writing I still wasn’t happy with my life. Due to my father not really being around it led me to act out and flaunt m talents for the wrong reasons, resulting to me being held back in the 6th grade.
After that first year was over and I returned back to school to be a 6th grader again I was crushed spiritually. I had lost the will to continue on with anything since I was seen as dumb, but when life seems it darkest that’s when you get hit with the light. Doing sixth grade over opened my eyes to a lot of new things, people, and new ways to write and be heard. It was then that I decided to give up on feeling sorry for myself and fight for what I want….Knowledge. Literature and I became one at that moment and I started believing in myself and my ability to write. That same year I met my best friends and got the joy of friendship. I applied that same energy to my writing and started my road to poetry as well.
My next hurdle that I leaped over was the Spelling B of that same year I had my wiring revival. I was nervous about doing it based off the fact that I never did a spelling b for one and secondly I didn’t really have a drive for it. I was very nonchalant about the whole thing until I was chosen to be a runner up for the contest. I fought through twenty six other kids to find a spot on stage. I was cool on the outside about the bee but deep inside I was ecstatic about the whole event. I studied countless dictionaries and looked over numerous documents of good literature to finds tough words to go against. By the time the spelling B came to pass I was more than ready (or so I thought.) in the end I wound up in fifth place being out with the word meteor. I was so mad at myself for freezing, but I was more proud of myself that I was able to do it.
The spelling bee put me in a good place and I wrote a lot after that just because of all the different words that I learned from the study sessions. It was like I had a stepping stone over everyone else at the time because my knowledge made me feel stronger, faster, and improved knowing that I could be a help to someone else. That gave me the spark to actually think of a career in words and writing. I never thought about it before hand until that moment that writing could be a way to be heard and to make a living. I then started a journal to keep my thoughts visible and to practice for the future. That journal was like an outlet for me at night and sometimes the day for me to escape and just get my thoughts out. Sometimes Thoughts of anger against my sisters, other times it would just be a log in about a great day and things I seen. My journal gave me peace and was my way of saying what I felt without being glared at for my ideas.


As my journal progressed I thought of ways to see if others were feeling the same way I felt but just didn’t want to be seen as outsiders because it wasn’t “cool”. Back home it wasn’t the best thing in the world to be smart. People don’t look at smart as the cool thing; instead they look at knowledge as something boring. Wiring in the hood is as useful as a glass of hot water in the desert, meaning you don’t need it. As I meditated on those thought the idea came to me like a flash of lightning. “Why not bring school home?” I said and that’s what I did. I started asking for books that weren’t being used at my school and I made a library. It was made with about thirty books, some notebooks from the corner store, some people who wanted to play and learn, and a lot of attention.
My first young students were my sisters and a few of my old friends that were game to play. Together we did all kinds of lessons out of those books for no real reason other than to learn and show others what we can do. Playing school with my friends made the transition for me going back to real school easier. I was already used to writing papers and keeping up with work and real school seemed like just a normal day to me after a while. I even used some of the material I wrote over the summer in class to see if our summer work was valuable and in the end it was a few grades over what we were doing in school.
By the time grade school as done I had become a strong independent writer that could do five paragraph essays in seconds from brainstorming to the final product. I felt good in knowing that I could produce good writing because writing was and still is one of the major factors that are needed for survival. Without writing where would anyone be? Writing was far too important to me when I was young, so important I found my career without even knowing it.

When I reached high school my writing adventures went from simple I like cat essays to five page papers about theories and ideas of great literary thinkers. The teachers that I met in Lincoln high school took me and made me something new. The mentors I picked up from high school gave me the idea on what was important. My freshman year was something completely out of left field because of all the new things I was suppose to learn. My first English teacher was young but she had a lot of knowledge on writing and what made a good paper. Through her working with my papers and showing me revisions on what I can make better I got a greater understanding on grammar and sentence structure.
Sophomore year I came back to a broader way of thinking when writing. I learned on how not to use the same stale ideas that were passed around in grade school and to follow a new wave of writing. Mr. Torres taught me that the pen was your paint brush and the paper is your canvas. Through him I got the idea of free writing and how your writing should actually feel and be free. I let go of all my previous fears on writing and in a way took the bull by the horns so to say. From there my writing took flight and I started doing little short stories on situations that I seen in my life.
My most curtail years of high school would have to be my junior and senior year. It was then that I met my mentor and learned the most important part about writing. I was taught that literature is what you make it, and that u need to put 100% in everything you write. Mrs. Ann Demitulis taught me that lesson the hard way my first marking period. she failed me for my easy style of writing stating that it wasn’t full circle, and after some time and studying I came out with a better way to write. I learned that it’s alright to speak your mind you just have to know when to do it. I was inspired in two ways; to teach and to write better.
When I chose my career as a teacher I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and that I was going to have to jump a lot of hurdles. Even so I still was ready, willing, and able to do it no matter what the cost. My career choice led me to Kean University for a degree in secondary education/English. In my pursuit of knowledge I use my writing to reach out to readers and teachers alike giving them some of my ideas and theories. I must say that college writing is at a level different from high school. It is expected but at the same time unexpected too. I say that because we all know from previous stories from others and even TV shows that college is this big place where they expect you to produce fine works. Nonetheless I am here to succeed and bring a degree home to help my culture and community.
In conclusion I use writing for many things and in different aspects as well. I use writing as a tool to help me better myself. I use writing as a weapon at times to address certain people and situations. I use writing even in everyday life messages and IMs. My writing is done for my culture, one that is lost in fashion and gang life. I use it to bring one person at a time to the real truth and what it’s about. Back home people have the tendency to downplay you for wanting to better yourself and with my writing I hope to change that. My dream is for my writing to be the ideal force that will drive our young generation to a better plateau. All I wish for is that the people embrace me for what I am trying to do.

post #6

my writing process for the paper....

i used the main ideas basically from class with some of my own flare
ideas such as..
-what was my main focus?
-I put together some of the most memorable stories.
-basic class discussions helped big time
-brainstorming and putting everything together.
my process is a fool proof way to writing a good, alive, and well written paper. i don't know if my methods will produce the same results in others but personally they work. i also try to look at others methods to see if i can add something in as well.

post #5

a sneak peek to my story......

When the topic of writing and what it means to you came up, it took me back to a simpler time. It took me to a place where I didn’t have walls or shields up. A place where I was whoever I wanted to be and the world was my canvas to write up whatever hot story would take the peoples breath away. To me writing gave focus and a different path away from the streets. That focus gave me the will and the power to help others and be the young man that I am today. Thinking back I have many stories that stand out to me but a few especially come to mind.
I can go back to my very first encounters with literature and all its different actions. Starting with my strict training on spelling and reading from my mother and her close friends. Those were the first lessons I had Growing up and even though they were tough and sometimes upset me I always pressed on. Later on I found that I always had a knack for literature it just needed to be brought out. My grade school memories were of me in gifted and talented classes with others who had the same drive and ambition as I did. Although I was smart and ha d a good view on writing I still wasn’t happy with my life. Due to my father not really being around it led me to act out and flaunt m talents for the wrong reasons, resulting to me being held back in the 6th grade.
After that first year was over and I returned back to school to be a 6th grader again I was crushed spiritually. I had lost the will to continue on with anything since I was seen as dumb, but when life seems it darkest that’s when you get hit with the light. Doing sixth grade over opened my eyes to a lot of new things, people, and new ways to write and be heard. It was then that I decided to give up on feeling sorry for myself and fight for what I want….Knowledge. Literature and I became one at that moment and I started believing in myself and my ability to write. That same year I met my best friends and got the joy of friendship. I applied that same energy to my writing and started my road to poetry as well.

post # 4

THE THEME FOR THE NARRATIVE.

my theme is going to be writing itself and ow writng connected me to different people and things in life. i want to go in dtail about how writing gave me a voice, and new voice that i never really had until a trying time in my life. i really want people to see that my life has been set up for my career and i have a passion for writing and teaching. this narrative will show that through hard work and a lil love the end results will always be good

post #3

the article about Ong's writing is a piece that re evaluates thought having some very good standing points.To be able to understand the internet and its workings at the time was great and it showed potential. The over the top use of language and ability of the Internet with all its streaming multimedia make his article seem older that what it is.
The idea that ong made concerning computer technology causing a writer to distance him or herself form the writing by use of time is valid and valuable for the writer to really look at the work and evaluate it.also the idea that computers will change the thinking process is correct in my opinion. Writing is something that we as peole use everyday and with the help of computers writing is becoming easier. i believe ong had an idea of the interactive aspects of the new computer generation.

Many of his fourteen points are valid. Writing does separate the writer, data and vocalization anlong with some garbage sites forces the writer to work harder to compensate for its distance by being more precise in word and grammar as well as structure. By use of time the writer can give thought on improvement. Also, it is true that writing allows people from all over to connect on certain things.

i can agree to disagree with some classmates and what they posted on their blogs for certain points such as:1) Writing has made philosophical thought possible, 2) Writing move thought to the left side of the brain and away from the right. 3) Writing create a dominant vs non dominant form of writing. 4) Writing separates the forms of language, high and low,academic and conventional. All of these points can be proven wrong with individual examples and with the passage of time can be dismissed as a possible theory that over time has been proven incorrect.

post #2

good evening blogger friends!.... i thought i would start this blog off on a lighter note before i start the questions. I just want to write that even though this blogging experience something rather new i plan to keep my post as interesting and work friendly as possible.

Now on to the Questions

What factors represented as influencing our relationships to written language in the essay on cultural stories?
Basic factors like family, your friends, jobs, ect. they all make up our characters and our writing spirits.

What can we learn about writing from biological-linguistic perspectives and theories? What can we learn about writing from social linguistic perspectives and the analysis of new literacy narratives?
From the biological side we can learn about the tectonics of writing , but from the social linguistic side we can easily see that peoples interactions and just everyday life can shape us to write the darkest of stories or in contrast the lightest of adventures. its all based on the person.