Cover Letter
Children’s books have a unique charm to them. It’s hard to grasp a child’s attention let alone teach them about new concepts and ideas. This is what books did for me. Letting me think innovatively and get familiar with novel and unique concepts. Opening a new way of thinking. Books were the key to unlocking my creativity. In this phase, I have gained a new perspective on the importance of language and literacy. The social impacts and the significance it has to one’s identity. How linguistic standards can belittle someone’s culture even though they are all stem from the same language. This can be proven by reading books, which is universal, relating to all.
I was most influenced by the arguments made in the writings we have read in class. It was logical and relatable. Having come from an immigrant family, I have faced ridicule, for my parent’s had poor diction. Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” was very relatable. These memories come with both happy and sad memories. Being embarrassed at the heavy accents or being treated as inferior by fluent English speakers. However, books were what made me happy. The authors didn’t care how I spoke as the only concern was that I enjoy the books.
Nowadays, “correct” language and literacy has become extremely important. There has been a mass digitalization of the correct way to speak and utilize language, almost as if they’re not real discussions but a perfectly constructed robotic sentence. There are endless tools to help with grammar, spelling, and wording. A lot of writing has lost their charm and attractiveness. For lack of better word, boring. Language and literacy in the modern day have too many restrictions, narrowing the field for creativity. Back when I was a child, my creativity was limitless, allowing me to expand my horizons and gain new perspectives. These positive experiences had allowed me to “explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.”
Language and Literacy Narrative
Everybody experiences nostalgia. The times when they were young and naïve, where they were carefree. Childhood provides a nostalgia like no other. A wholesome and warm sensation. Something that people often lack from their adult lives. Perhaps a feeling of adventure and curiosity, without the burden of realism.
My childhood was once like that. I dreamed big, large even. All my aspirations stemmed from a series called “Geronimo Stilton”. A middle-aged, white-collar mouse that worked for the newspaper Rodents Gazette. He had great adventures he was forced to go on by his friends and Family. My favorite book was when he went up Mount Kilimanjaro, braving through the African wilderness. Every week I would be inspired to complete an adventure, the same ones Geronimo went on, except that it only ended up on my bucket list.
In 2nd grade, I had a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Birchfield. She had dark brown hair, blue eyes, and a kind, warm smile. She was the one to introduce me to books. Books put me in a trance. I would meticulously plan and picture each letter in my head. The scenarios would play as though it were a cartoon. I was so engrossed in the books that everything around me was white noise. Mrs. Birchfield would always have to tap my shoulder to get my attention. One day, she leaned over and asked me “Zihad” she would say, “what do you like about these books so much that you ignore me?” I would then blabber on about my heroic approach of tackling these adventures.
A child’s imagination is the most pure and precious. They are not confined by the literal application of things. That is why children often like fairy tales. My fairy tales were Geronimo’s adventures. Jumping out of a plane, braving through the African forests, going to space, all of it felt unachievable. My imagination would be as wild as the ideas I was introduced to by books.
Books have left an unforgettable print on me. Throughout the ages I have gained new perspectives on people and ideals. I have come to the realization that my ideals don’t necessarily have to align with others. Just like Geronimo, even when there’s surprise adventures, once I get through it, I can shape my own ideas.
A person enjoys the experience of nostalgia because of the memories that came with it, memories of happiness and content. They say one of the best ways to make yourself happy in the present is to recall happy times in the past. Literature and language are records of my happiness, in my book of life. The nostalgia I feel brings back the passion and curiosity I once had. Books make me feel whole again. That is what literature and language is.
