Literacy is a Noun - Sean

I suppose the easiest way for me to start this is at the beginning. In the beginning, two small cells came together, and about eight months later I was born. Yes, eight. I was born six weeks early. I must have been very curious about life outside my little watery bubble to be in such a hurry to leave it. Ever since then, I’ve been insatiably curious about the world around me, and with that curiosity came a love of reading books.

The first books I remember were books I didn’t even read. At night, before I’d go to bed, my parents would gather my brother and me, and read books to us. They were simple books like One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and other such books by Dr. Seuss. Later, I remember my father reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull to us.

Obviously, I grew older, and started reading books by myself. Some of my most favorite titles growing up were from the Dinotopia series. I loved reading about dinosaurs and other animals as a child. I also loved reading about space and the universe. My parents would encourage me to read aloud to them at night and would encourage me to read with feeling and passion. I like to attribute my learning of words to them and their constant encouragement.

Later, I read several books from the Wishbone series. I remember them mainly because the hero was a dog, and he could talk in his own head. I loved Sonic the Hedgehog as well, and read several of those books. My love of reading, I think, was the biggest thing that allowed me to learn the language. It was a way for me to learn new words, and also learn about the world around me. It was from reading books and stories that I gained an understanding of how the language fit together.

In the end, books allowed me to expand my knowledge of the language in my early years far more than any bit of teaching in school. My parents had a large part in pushing me to read, and introducing me to the language at an early age. If it wasn’t for their love and encouragement, I daresay I wouldn’t be nearly as competent, composed, and fluent in the English language as I am today.