Posts tagged life
Literacy Narrative
Nov 26th
My earliest memory involving pre-formal reading and storytelling is that of my dad telling me his invented tales of a little girl and little boy growing up in Nova Scotia. I cannot remember at what age I was when he first began telling me these stories, but it is definitely the first thing I can remember. These stories seemed to have a very loose plot structure. The little boy and little girl from Nova Scotia lived on the Bay of Fundy and usually experienced some kind of weather phenomena, or their experience echoed something from my dad’s own past. There was no overarching moral to his stories; the importance was using my imagination to paint a picture of what a life alternative to my own would be like.
I always remember my parents reading, be it solitary or to me – or even, to each other. My mom would read Sherlock Holmes stories out loud on long trips. My dad would read the Sunday comics to me. When I got to be about 4 years old, he began reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books to me. That was the first experience of relating to a character in a story from a different time, for me, and it was a really powerful experience. To this day I can remember huge scenes from the “Little House” books as if they were from my own memory. I formed a real relationship with those stories and characters. Personal involvement in stories seems pretty key, looking back. Even with stories like “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” my family and I would re-enact the scene in which the goats “trip-trap” across the bridge. Every bridge I crossed suddenly had a troll underneath it.
So, reading was very important in my house. It was not something that was explicitly stressed, but rather implicitly so. Even in the television I watched, there was an emphasis on literacy. I learned my alphabet watching Sesame Street. I continued to develop the value of a good story by watching Reading Rainbow and going to the library frequently. I learned how to read outside of the classroom setting. I remember how nerve wracked I was when my mother told my teacher that I could read already and the teacher sat me down in front of fifteen or so of my peers, who weren’t reading yet, and had me read to them. To this day, I remember feeling the embarrassment of stumbling over words, uncertain if I was reading correctly. I thought they would think I was a bad reader or not a reader at all – maybe faking it somehow.
After learning to read, I became voracious. I devoured book after book. My mother would take me to the library on a regular basis and I would walk out with an armload and finish half of them on the car ride home. In the summer, I would participate in the library summer reading initiative, earning prizes for the books I read. I continued reading as if it were a competitive sport in school with Accelerated Reader, always choosing the books worth the most points and reading them as quickly as I could. I would regularly be at the top of the Accelerated Reader list as far as who had the most points, as a result.
I remember honing my skills as a reader by recording myself reading a story I had written and illustrated. The cover was made of leftover wallpaper and my drawings and near illegible scrawls were stapled inside. I vaguely remember it being about a dog named BoBo. Everyone had a story about BoBo the dog, as it was part of a handmade flash card system my teacher used to teach us phonics.
What a Sunday lie-in looks like….
Nov 8th
Anglophile as always, I’m listening to the BBC Radio 1 chart show. Thinking about going to buy some black skinny jeans at the Gap later to prematurely reward myself for working on a presentation I have to do on Monday.
How to say it…
Aug 11th
I’ve not been blogging lately. I got off to a good start, but then… life happened. How do you write about the personal in such a public place? I don’t know. I keep putting this off because I don’t know.
I went up to Illinois to be moral support for a friend who is going through a rough time. I have really wonderful friends. It’s an elect group – there are very few, but they are wonderful, kind, supportive people. I don’t see nearly enough of them. Do all twenty-somethings get caught in the work-sleep-repeat cycle? I get locked in to work-sleep-repeat, I focus on myself and my worries… and then, once in that blue moon, I remember that there is this person I used to share time with and do STUFF. And so we do, we hang out, we talk. We realize, “hey, you’re going through the same thing I am!” and “hey, this is fun! we should make this a thing!” And then we fall back into the work-sleep-repeat cycle for a few more weeks.
No one in my social group has a career. We all have liberal arts degrees and live in a town that thrives on engineering, technology, etc. What use do they have for literature, for communications? A Bachelor’s degree just isn’t enough, anymore, unless you’re really lucky.
I hate logging on to Facebook. Everytime I do, yet another person from my high school graduating class is getting married or announcing that they are expectant parents. How are they so together? Are they? These are such grown-up decisions. I’m not financially stable, I’m not personally stable, I’m just STARTING to figure out what I want to do and be. How are they there yet? I am not even interested in dating anyone. How are they settling down and getting married when I’m only just getting amped up?
I have to keep reminding myself. I’m not alone. I’m not the only one. I’m on a different path. It’s okay. We need each other to fly in and be moral support. We have to fall out of work-sleep-repeat.
Listen!
Jul 8th
All women, of all ages, ought to listen to Lindsey Markel’s You Are Among Friends, because it and she are amazing.
Lindsey Markel is one of those people I’ve come across in my internet experience over and over again, and though I’ve never been friends with her, she has always been a personal role model of mine for reasons I cannot really pinpoint. When I read what she writes, whatever it may be, I feel a connection both to her and to myself… I feel empowered. I hope if you are encountering her for the first time, you feel the same way.
Works sucks… that’s why they call it “work.”
Jul 7th
That’s another saying I absolutely hate. You should not hate the work you do, whatever job it is you currently occupy. Work is a part of life. That is to say, life does not stop happening the 8-12 or more hours you are in your work place and it does not start happening the minute you leave. What happens outside of work effects what happens at work, and vice versa. If you are miserable at your job, chances are you are going to carry some of that misery home with you… regardless of what anyone says about “leaving work at work.” It’s a part of your life, and thereby part of you.
It is important, then, to make it worth your while and a valuable experience. Not valuable in a monetary gain sense of the word, but in a “how does this benefit me as a person” way. If you are passionless about your job (and cannot change for whatever reason), then a different attitude toward it must be necessary. Try to extract some positivity out of your situation, because that negative outlook of “work sucks” will just drag you down.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Jul 6th
I hate that quote. It’s overused and a bit trite, in my opinion. What I find most irritating about it, however, is that it’s true.
I often find myself irritated by people in my life, especially myself, who spend their time complaining about how bad things are, how hard they are, how much things just SUCK for them. Of course, when it isn’t me doing the kvetching, I offer support and I don’t say what I am about to say here as tactlessly… DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Just shut up, and do something to fix your problems. You are not a damsel in distress. No knight in shining armor is coming to save you. Stop being so ungrateful for all that you have been given and utilize what you have!
Although I am the beneficiary of free room, board, and my education thus far and probably should not be lecturing others on personal responsibility… I find myself wanting to on a regular basis. Allow me to say, for definitely not the last time, how grateful I am that all this is provided by my wonderfully generous family.
But, this blog is, however, not a reminder to myself that others should be responsible for themselves, although they (I) should. This is a reminder that I can’t change anybody, I can only change myself. I need to quit focusing on what other people are doing and worry about what and how I am doing for myself. It is impossible and a complete waste of time to try and control or even guide the actions of other people. They’ll never listen, anyway. Generally, most people learn better by example than they do by someone lecturing them, anyway. By worrying about what is happening on my side of the garden fence, then, I am thereby possibly influencing those around me.
Life After College: My Journey Thus Far
Jul 5th
In December of 2007, earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature. Immediately following graduation, I jumped right into taking graduate classes as a non-degree-seeking student. The most important thing I realized from this was that I was not ready for graduate school, which was fine… I was accepting of that, on one level. On another level, it was a huge blow to me. I had always anticipated continuing on with my education in pursuit of a Ph.D without stopping for a breath of air.
So, from Summer 2008 until Autumn of 2009, I worked. I did a month-long internship in which I was able to utilize my research and organizational skills, but did not really learn anything about marketing, nor did I successfully network. (This was my own fault). I “temped” as a secretary for a month until I obtained a regular job in a book store. I mistakingly thought that working in a book store would be an appropriate environment for someone with a passion for literature, such as myself. Again, I was terribly wrong. The book store at which I worked put a higher emphasis on sales (especially the dreaded “discount card” and magazine subscriptions) than they did on anything else. I should have known better – it is, after all, a retail establishment. I toughed it out from March 2008 until March 2009, when I finally received an opportunity to nanny. Now, I describe myself as a modern-day Mary Poppins. While I am still working for an hourly wage, I no longer feel that my work is necessarily menial, nor do I feel undervalued as a person.
Yet, I am by no means a “young professional.” I finally feel like I am back on the “right” path in that I am returning to the wonderful(ly safe) world of academia. I joke, in way, calling it wonderfully safe… It’s a world in which I walk happily and comfortably, also one in which I’ve always imagined myself living and working. I remember saying in the 3rd grade that I would obtain a Ph.D. Now, I feel like I’m on the way. Though I am not a “young professional,” nor will I ever seem to be (by the time I begin a true profession, I’ll probably be in my 30s), I am on a path on which I know I am not travelling alone.
I suppose I should have known way back in 1992 that I was destined to read for a living.
The Adventure of English
Jul 5th
I am ready for autumn, for my own adventure of the English language and literature to begin again. In Autumn, I will begin graduate school in pursuit of my M.A. degree. I am over-excited, already, like a kid ready to begin kindergarten instead of a would-be adult. Where does this idea come from that adults are supposed to treat things very soberly? On today of all days, why am I trying to foist myself into that idea? I just spent a few hours with my wonderful, beautiful friends running around lighting firecrackers. All of us are would-be adults, in our mid-twenties… but not a single one of us is a “grown-up,” in the way where we know what we are doing and have our lives together. I can’t even imagine getting to that point, yet, and slowly, but slowly… I’m accepting that it is OKAY not to have my stuff together, to not know exactly what I want, yet.
I know that I’m not the only one my age who feels pressured by what their peers are accomplishing, by what their parents have accomplished by this age. It’s difficult to remember that we are not them, that this adventure is ours to have and cherish.
I keep having to remind myself that I am only 24 years old. Yes, some of my peers already have careers panning out, some are getting married and starting families… but that is not for me, yet. I’m moving at a different pace, I have a different plan. That’s perfectly acceptable, in fact, it’s perfect for me.
I know for a fact that I’m not the only one with a Bachelor’s degree who lives with family and works for an hourly wage at a job that is not my desired career. I know that I am not in any way in the place in life where I imagined I would be by now. I must be challenged by this and learn from it, and not let it get me down.
1. KEEP AN OPEN MIND: Be ready for new experiences and new challenges. Be ready to LEARN. Managing my own money and supporting myself financially was something I had to adjust to.
2. EXPECT TO BE DISAPPOINTED: You will be let down at some point, that’s life so just be ready. You might not get the first job you interview for. You may not get the salary you expected. All I’m saying is be realistic. Especially in this economy the game is totally different.
3. CHANGE IS INEVITABLE: Even if you stay in the same city you attended college, your life will not be the same. Friends will leave and life will be different. There are no “mental health days” allowed at work like in college. You need to change your method of thinking and remember that you are being paid to be there and your company values your time so you should too.
4. TAKE RISKS: If not now, then when? Move somewhere new. Apply for a job you might be under qualified for. Travel and work somewhere exotic for a while. Go out and meet new people- NETWORK! This is probably the most valuable take away networking will do wonders for your career in the present and in the future.
5. TAKE YOUR OWN PATH: This is your time to be selfish. By that I mean, you need to make decisions for yourself about where you will live, work and play. Don’t make your plans according to what your best friend or boyfriend/girlfriend is doing- you will be left thinking what if. Go with your gut and make sure that you are doing something that you are proud of and are in a place that you feel excited about going to work and being part of the company.
Starting off is both frightening and exciting and you will never get another first chance to decide what the first thing you will do after college is going to be so make it something great and do not be afraid of listening to your heart!
At this time in life, I am the only one holding myself back. That is the reality of the situation.