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Learning Spanish
At a very young age (since I was born really) my mom and dad taught me how to speak, read, and write in Spanish. They would have me write the Spanish alphabet, every letter twice upper and lower case, read books in Spanish and would only speak to me in Spanish. They would say "When you're in this house you only speak Spanish, at school, with your friends, and outside you'll learn English." -
Music In My Life
Growing up in my house there was always music playing. We would listen to mostly Mexican and Latin music but we'd listen to a variety of genres as well. Also whatever was popular at the time whether on the radio or CDs I would listen to. I remember that whenever the song Ahora Quien by Marc Anthony would be on the TV I would get up and sing it and copy his movements in his music video. I was about 3 or 4. I grew up loving latin music and all music really. -
How I Learned To Read In English
In school I was taught English. Sometimes I would get my Spanish and English crossed. In order to keep up with my English and expand my vocabulary I would read everything around me. I would read road signs, subtitles, the synopsis of the TV show on the guide, and most memorable the back of my favorite cereal boxes. I was around 6 -
Elementary School
In elementary school they would make us go to the library to pick out a book and keep a reading log. We tracked how long we read, what a pages and a summary of what we read. I would have to have my parents sign it by the end of the week and hand it in so the teachers could grade it and gives us stickers. I was around 8 or 9 -
First Chapter Books I Read
I remember that one of the first chapter books I read was The Magic Tree House books. They varied in difficulty ones were easier than others but those were the first books that got me interested in reading. The colorful covers and illustrations of the different places the characters would go would catch my attention and make me want to read those books. I was about 9 or 10 -
Movies Throughout My Life
Like many, I enjoy films and some of the most memorable movies I've watched consist of, Disney Movies, Crash, Hotel Rwanda, Rocky Movies, ScarFace, The GodFather , Piano Man, Freedom Writers , Interstellar, Under The Same Moon, Paid in Full, Horror Movies (Halloween, Haunting in Connecticut, Sinister ,etc), Spy Movies (James Bond, Mission Impossible,)and so many others. Some of these movies have great plots/characters, others are purely entertainment. Most contribute to pop culture today.(3-10+) -
Social Media
Living in the new digitized world I witnessed the birth of social media platforms. My first social media account made was Facebook and into my early teen years I would make accounts for Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat. Most of these are used to interact with peers and friends but whats seen a lot more now is the way news is spread through these platforms and click bait culture. Source checking is much more important due to the how easy it is to spread false information to a large audience.(age 11+ -
History Class
In High School, history classes/ social studies, made my interest of other cultures and world history grow. I also wanted to learn and understand why and how things happened. My U.S History teacher Mr.Flynn would teach us how to write argumentative essays and the skills it took to search for good sources and how to make/defend our arguments. We would also discuss about real world situations in the beginning of class along with daily banter. (age 15-17) -
Family Stories
This has actually followed me all my life. At family parties, events, talking with my parents and relatives from Mexico. Its nice and interesting to hear about your family history and culture/traditions. However my favorite stories we share among families are scary stories and encounters we've had. They range from staying in haunted houses, to seeing ghost or living through crazy life or death moments . We would have a bonfire outside in the summer and share our stories. (age: most of my life) -
Now (COLLEGE)
As a college student now, writing is much more prominent. Theres papers due, essays, English projects of sorts (like this one). With each paper done and class discussions I feel like I'm more aware of how literature and reading/writing impacts life outside of school. As well as understanding writing/written texts as well. It can be intimidating writing longer papers or more in depth writing but like with most things, it takes time and practice and help when needed. (age 18)
