Forrest Hellard 1 Forrest Hellard English 1101 Mrs.

Camargo October 2 2013

My Story and What Inspires Me. When thinking about my literacy memoir, two things come to mind, one of which is music and the other of which is my best friend Kimberli who inspired me to pursue the path that I have. Several other things come to mind too, including my best friends and people that I have seen play shows live. Not only do my friends inspire me but also my major in physics really brings out my more logical side and brings out a different type of literacy other than mathematical. Although they are different, they kind of go hand in hand and work together in ways I would have never thought. I believe that music is an equation just like Physics is a jumble of equations as well. Seeing numbers in everyday objects on a daily basis is my form of literacy and I am always counting things and being very observant. Not only does music act as something that I love, it is also a very good way to cope with things that have happened in my life or that continue to haunt me daily. My parents play a huge role in how I communicate too because they have always been my rock and without them I would cease to be who I am. With their help and motivation I have become a much better person and continued to adapt to different things in life and want to pursue a career. My best friend Kimberli inspired me the most, because even though she knew that she was dying, she always kept fighting the disease and always pushed to live. I

Forrest Hellard 2 never really understood this until she passed and it completely changed who I am today. I think the inspiration that she gave me for my music and art has been essential to the music I make and what inspires me. My mom was also a huge help because she was kimsKims best friend and literally was there with her for everything. Seeing this makes you look at life a lot different and you start to realize how thankful you are to even be in school and be able to write on a laptop, something that kids in other countries would die to be able to even look at. This shocks me because I sometimes take certain things for granted and it bothers me at the end of the day but then I think of Kim and how she cherished everything and it makes me look at it differently. I think my form of literacy is much different than other people just because Ive experienced a lot of different tragedies in the span of about 2 years. In high school, I sat next to this kid in my religion class and used to talk to him daily, I even walked with him to class most days and he was always a friend to me. Unexpectantly over the announcements one day, I had heard that he took his own life. This was where I was crushed, it hurt so badbadly, but it really inspired me to push for a better perception of life anytime and any chance I get. This is why I think writing is an awesome way to express what feelings you have held up inside of you and a perfect way to release your true emotions in a form of simply words. After these events I stopped being materialistic and stopped spending money on stupid things. Usually when I get a large sum of money I will go and take a homeless guy out to eat in a nice restaurant. I know it sounds crazy but its just who I am, I truly dont judge, and Im not scared of anyone either, which could be good or

Forrest Hellard 3 bad I guess Either way, hopefully it shows that I am a caring person because I truly am. Regardless I think that the reason I think this way is again because of what has happened in my life and how iveIve seen people suffer. Another example that really influences my mindset could be from the torture that my family went through during the regime in Chile. Although very few people know about it, my country, Chile, went through a time where militaristic rebels basically tried to eliminate the middle class and lower class or anyone that opposed their way. Not wanting to be eliminated, my grandma stood up and because of this, she was tortured and is still feeling the affects today physically and emotionally. She is another person that I am highly influenced by because she fought for what she wanted and not only that but also for what was right which is exactly what I fight to do on a daily basis as well. Although sometimes standing up and protesting isnt the right way to accomplish what you want, its different when your family is involved and it could potentially ruin them. She influences my literacy because she brings out the more methodical and reasonable approach to writing. Even though I am very logical, I like to explain things in a very down to earth way so anyone who is literate can understand. But I dont think its exactly fair to write, because it is limited to those who are literate, which ultimately makes it a upper class style of communication that only certain people can have access to. This really makes me mad because I think everyone out there deserves a chance to see truth. I think the fact that I am so inspired by people in my everyday life helps me to think about helping other people one day through art and in this case literacy itself.

Forrest Hellard 4 Applying physics to possibly create better places for poor people or using it to create wells that could bring in water to people who need it forces me to push for the most successful way of life that is possible today. Most people dont understand how I was able to keep such a positive attitude after these tragic events happened senior year, but I always kept pushing myself to stay positive and one day present an image of existence that is good for everyone through art and science. Looking at these 3 main sponsors, they all influence me in a different way and inspire me to fight for change that is relevant to where we as humans stand today in our modern society. I dont think that I am exactly the best writer around and I think this draft is horribly written, but I do try to let people know what my ultimate goal in life is, and how I stand for equality amongst everyone. Using literacy to promote this is what I want to strive to do and I want other people to take part in it as well. Hopefully one day when I am older I can use my talents to help people and eventually get to the point where everything seems to fall into place and I am successful. Every one of my sponsors all went through hell and back but ended up leaving as people that continue to inspire people even beyond their point of living which is amazing and something that I really want to do. In conclusion, I think my literacy, whether logical, or humanitarian, will be used to help people around the world and inspire other people to make a change as well. I dont want to be the person who stands for change but doesnt truly make a difference. I want to be the person who makes a change hands on directly with those who need the help today. Whether this happens through my love of music or through my love of science, hopefully it will make some sort of difference in peoples

Forrest Hellard 5 society around the world. Although literacy is just a small way of making a change, it is a very important and essential way as well because all forms of society, regardless of race, culture, or tradition, uses a language to get their message across. Everybody can look up to someone else and see what good can be achieved from their method of literacy to other people.