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Bradley Setzer Ms. Rand English 1103 9-5-12 Disney Songs and Jesus Christ: My Introduction to Literacy Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase! Now just imagine the above librettos sung, or should I say lyrically slurred, by a two year old boy dancing around in his diaper. Sounds like a comical childhood story doesnt it? Well, believe it or not this was actually my first experience with the vast world of literacy. To be quite honest music in general had much to do with how I was introduced to all types of literacy. Whether it was reading, writing, oral, or even digital literacies; the basis of it all related back to music, especially if the compositions associated with Disney or Bible school songs. If it wasnt obvious by now Disney revolved around my upbringing. Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, etc. I couldve recited them by heart, sloppily of course, but declaimed none the less. I even had my bedroom decorated in The Lion King attire until I was ten years old. But, I digress this autobiography isnt about the wonderful world of Disney after all, though it does tie in. Growing up my parents bought me and my sister a collection of VHS tapes cleverly enough titled Disney Sing along Songs. We would sit square in front of the television and watch the petite Mickey Mouse head bounce across the yellow words running along the bottom of the screen. This was how I learned to read, well for the most part that is. I guess you could say the background of my learning is similar to Sherman Alexies in his article titled Superman and Me. You see I would match the words highlighted by the floating mascot head to the voices emitting from the speakers just as Alexie did with making a
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connection with what was going on in his comic books. It was just simplistic correlations between sound and visuals that taught me to understand the structured symbols I saw each and every day. This corresponding was only strengthened as I was exposed to even more of the world we call Earth, and that includes church. Jesus loves me this I know for the bible tells me so, little ones to Him belong; they are weak but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so. If I recall correctly this was the very first song I learned from the house of God, well either that or The B-I-B-L-E. Again, simplicity tends to be key, but it makes all the difference; after all it was the simple nature of these songs that gave me the ability to comprehend words and there meaning. So, unlike most people when I think of church I think of education not just of faith but of words, written and spoken; of verses consisting of Ephesians, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. These to me were underlying lessons within surface teachings. At this point literacy was becoming a familiarity. Desks, early mornings, paper, pencil, notebooks; what do all these have in common? The answer of course is school. A place of education, not just mentally but socially as well; it is the place we spend at least thirteen long years of our early lives. It is also, clich enough to say, that it is the place we our truly enveloped in the concepts of literacy. Everybody put there sticker on their feeling chart. It was a large, laminated piece of paper that had twenty or so pockets on it, with words such as happy, mad, sad; the basic script youd find in any Kindergarten class. Each student everyday would place theirere sticker, which was really just more laminated paper, in the slot based upon how they felt that day. It didnt occur to me then, but this was probably when I
Formatted: Highlight Formatted: Highlight Comment [MR2]: The repetition and songs were fundamental to your literacy. Would you say that the combo of music and words help children learn faster than just learning to read words on a page? What do you think? Comment [MR3]: Im thinking about the transition here Formatted: Highlight Comment [MR1]: Im really enjoying the tone of the essay. Its very conversational, and easy to follow. I also like the connection to Alexie in this paragraph.

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discovered that words truly held meaning to them, not just used for communication or songs. From then my literary endeavors took off. For example in first grade I quickly progressed from works such as Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type to Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban in a span of about two to three months. Reading became habit, obsession; reading became lifestyle. If you dont know what AR points are, then you probably lived under a rock for most of your primary education years. These Accelerated reader points only fueled my fire even more. Reading then became competition, I wanted to out-do my colleagues and friends as much as I could, so my longing and desire to sit down with a good book became greater and greater as the years flew by. The same applied with writing. As much as I loved reading, I adored Japanese animation even more. Shows like Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z were my indulgences. So, naturally I produced my own stories, sometimes about the characters from these shows, other times about my own creations. Though the grammar was completely awful, I didnt mind. These were workings of my inner most thoughts drawn or written on wide ruled and computer paper. All I wanted to do was write and illustrate these diverse chapters and let my thoughts take me to another world. Reading and writing let creativity spark within me. I could imagine and I could dream vast fantastic situations and storylines. Sadly enough, time passes and we come to know The Real World. Through middle school and the beginning of High School I had found my knack for creating enchanting stories began to fade. To be perfectly honest at that point in time I had become less of an optimistic person to say. Sure, I became more knowledgeable when it came to logistic situations, but lets be frank, being calculated isnt nearly as pleasurable as letting your ingenious side be unrestricted. It was as if the identity I had once known had fled with the creativity that filled my
Comment [MR4]: This is goodId like to hear more on this!

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very being. Actually my identity and creativity seemed to be one in the same; creativity was my identity, and without my identity who was I? To put it simply- I was a shell; just a hollow figure lurking within the billions of other faces in the crowd. That being said my Junior year I decided to revert to my old, more content, ways. It was time to reclaim what once was mine. It was time to reclaim me, and the process started when I decided to take a class by the name of Creative Writing. Poetry, narratives, short stories, in other words freedom to be as inventive in writing as possible. In this class joy had returned. I was able to let my mind, once again, wander to my hearts desire. I had forgotten the excitement that originality brought me. There were no walls to be confined in; I could color outside the lines. Abstract poems were being written about surreal dreams, Halloween inspired short stories were being produced, and the love I felt for literacy was growing more and more each day I spent in that class, and it continues to grow to this day. Mommy will you read me a bedtime story? I would ask. Go get tucked in and I will,. mMy mother would respond. Though everything as a child was so new and simple back when I was a young child,; I am certainly glad I developed the way I did through the concepts of literacy. From everything Ive written and read over the years each has paid off one way or another. Im able not only to think critically, but I am able to show it in my writing as well. Literacy has proven to be essential to my life and my happiness. Whether it be through books, comics, tabloids, lyrics, video games, poetry, essays, even journal entries; these conceptions have become necessities. The bare necessities, the simple bare necessities; forget about your worries and your strife. I mean the bare necessities old Mother Nature's recipes that brings the bare necessities of life.
Comment [MR7]: Great point! Comment [MR6]: I might suggest a page break here to indicate a move to your conclusion. You are using a flashback to then wrap up your paper and it doesnt quite transition from the previous paragraph as clearly as it could. Comment [MR5]: This is really interesting discussion here. Id like to hear more about the connection between identity and creativity (maybe generally speaking?). How does this connect back to literacy?

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Once again, the very thing that introduced me to the world of literacy comes into play once again. From Disney all the way to Jesus Christ, literacy is everywhere and everything.

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Narrative Reflection Over the past two weeks of creating, editing, and reediting my paper; I found that out of any paper Ive ever written- this was my absolute favorite. The way my thoughts flowed on to the blank white space was amazing. My thoughts never seemed to be broken, and I never came across a moment where I didnt know what to type next; it was a seamless process. Throughout this process I have also found that my vocabulary has enhanced greatly and shows when rereading countless times. If I had more time to complete the assignment; transition would be the most immense subject I would work on. Though my flow from paragraph to paragraph isnt too shabby; I would love it to be as flawless as possible. Hopefully after reading my work the reader is left in a sense of awe. I want them to compare and contrast their own introduction to literacy and be able to relate to my development. It would also be fantastic if they complemented my use of grammar; thats just a plus. Again, this paper was actually a joy to write. From the way it flowed out of my mind to the way I was able reflect on my own past experiences; this paper portrays me.

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Planning Music- the first introduction; rhythm and flow were prominent. Disney- My childhood revolved around Disney- it sparked my first flights of creativity. Jesus- Bible School and Church taught me lessons besides just the teachings of God; they helped me become literate. School- Obviously this education environment would skyrocket my progression into the world of literacy, but as time passed my creativity and quest for knowledge became uninteresting as well, luckily they returned later on. *The combination of these subjects was and still is my identity; as well as the reason why I am literate in many fields.