Essay #2 Spelling Bee (The Power of Literacy)

I have learned a lot from people and the world around me but it wasn't until the age of seven that I actually learned the true power of literacy. I spent most of my childhood as a little girl being very quite and shy. I didn't speak much to others and mostly kept to myself. Being so shy and looking so young kept me from interacting with other kids. Between the ages of three and six I didn't say a word, that is until I had to. I spent a lot of time observing other kids rather than talking to them. For me this was the easiest way to learn, and to not get picked on by the other kids. Also this always gave me the opportunity to gain more insight on a situation and learn from it . If I had the bravery to talk, then I would know what to say without embarrassing myself; always think before you speak.

Even though I didn't speak much I usually spent a good portion of my time thinking and daydreaming. I always completed my work and usually did more than asked. At times I was a little disruptive in class but that's because no one usually noticed me. At that age I didn't really pay attention to the problems that other kids were having because I never had no problems, so honestly I didn't really know what it meant to have trouble with school. My mom usually spent no time with me when it came to any kind of school work. When I needed help with anything in particular I could never turn to her because she was preoccupied with her partying and was usually never around. So I did what I supposed to do; I did all my homework by myself and went to school everyday. Not knowing that I had a gift of any kind I usually spent a lot of time reading and writing. I loved to write a lot usually it was just a bunch of nonsense because at that age what can you really be writing about? So not interacting with kids gave me a lot of time to just think as well and come up with random ideas for writing you know kids stuff.

It wasn't until the age of seven that I realized the true meaning of literacy, it was second grade and I was extremely terrified. I remember it was only a few weeks in to the school year and one of the faculty members came to our classroom to talk to the teacher about a spelling bee the school was having.I didn't have a clue what the hell a spelling bee was, so I didn't really pay to much attention to what they were talking about. The very next couple of days were spent testing kids on how well they could spell. I remember when they came to our class room, I will never forget that day. They were making kids get up in front of the class room and spell out words to see if they were capable of knowing how. The first thing that ran through my mind was " No way am I getting up in front of class to spell". So if you could of imagined I was very terrified and frightened. Just thinking about what I was going to spell was scary, let alone to be able to spell correctly without embarrassing myself.

So I watched and observed other kids with the words that were being presented to them and come to my surprise half of these kids did not know how to spell. Where did that leave me? This is all I could think of, there was a reason why I had been so quite all this time. I didn't believe I was the smartest kid nor did I even know what it meant to be smart. So this was it, my name was called "Michele Dolstad will you please stand up". So I stood and was asked to spell my word out and I did. It didn't stop from there it seemed there wasn't a word that I couldn't spell. There were only a few kids that made it past the first ten words and for others they didn't even make it past the first five. The idea was to see who could spell the best and who could go the longest. So the more words they kept giving me the more I kept spelling them correctly and there was no stopping me. It came to a point where they had to stop me some where, but it wasn't cause of the fact that I couldn't spell anything. After testing every second grader in the school there was only one other student that could spell as well as I did and they were soon to be the enemy. So there I was only seven years old and I discovered that I had a talent; I was smart whatever that meant. This also meant that I had to get up in front of the whole school and do exactly what we did in class. This was intense for me and I wasn't so sure I could go through with it. Here I had spent this whole time not saying a word and the minute I open up my mouth there it is. All the attention was drawn on me exactly what I was trying to avoid in the first place, it was the scariest thing I had ever done in the whole seven years of my life.

That night eventually came around and it was scheduled event for everyone to come and enjoy. Everyone and their parents were there and all the staff and faculty were there as well, rearing up and waiting to go. I was so nervous and had never been that scared in my life. There were a few other kids that were going to go before me, the few that made it through the first stage . As I watched I grew less nervous, thinking "I can do this". "I got myself here in the first place and I didn't even mean to". Also because recognizing what I had was empowering and I was excited to use it. From there I watched as each kid failed miserably but at least they tried, then came my time, and I was up against a line of kids. I made it through the first set of words with flying colors, but it was the next set of words that made me nervous. Only because as we progressed into the next set of words they just got bigger. So far I was still left standing and it seemed know one could out spell me, that is up until I was faced against the other kid that could spell just as well as I did. There we were across from each other and all I could think of is "where is my mom and how could I win this with out no support"? I didn't even know I had the capabilities in the first place. So then we started and they were throwing words at us like it was nothing. The more words I spelt right the more confident I became. Then something happened and I went blank, we must have went through more than 74 words face to face before I drew a complete blank. There it was, they gave a word I simply could not spell and it was a big word. Now here is the thing if this happens then they give the other kid that very same word and if he doesn't spell it correctly then we move on, and of he does spell it right then he wins. Sure enough he actually spelt the word right and I was in immediate shock. Only because I had it locked in my mind that I knew I could Winn this but sure enough I didn't ,instead I took runner up which was second place.

I don't think I have ever been so proud of myself, in that very moment I knew what the true power of literacy meant to me. I felt different some how, learning that I had a talent becasue I never talked in the first place. I beleive that observation can teach you a lot, the power of words as well can be quite empowering. Knowing something that not everyone else knows can also leave a feeling of empowerment . From that very day I was determined to suceed at anything especially when it came to schooling. From there Icontinued to do quite well in school like always. That following year I became an honor student and student of the month twice which was usually a hard one to make. I started to spend more time reading and writing, and eventually joined the schools reading team "Books across America". I started to speak up a little bit more, once I learned the empowerment of voice. Last but not least I was finally able to make perfect attendance, once my mom stopped moving me around. So this is literaly what started my quest for knowledge and recognized what the power of literacy was.

Blog #3 Who's Suffering?

There's a lot in mind when I watch this video, words can't even begin to describe it. I'm overwhelmed by sadness and disgust of the way the world has become. I see one boy getting a normal well deserved life and the other, I see kids that are living a very painful life that dont know anything but to be slaves in a sweatshop for the people that are getting a well deserved life. It's kind of ironic how we as people take things for granted and we don't really think about it until someone points it out to us. Just like that good old sang "you don't know what you have until you lose it". This is something I try to remind myself of everyday just because I don't want to classify myself as one of those people, but we do it anyways. It's so easy to forget the good things in life when life moves so fast and we constantly seek for more, as if what we had wasn't good enough to begin with. In many ways I can relate to both aspects of the story, one the shitty life that you are given, and two a glimpse of what a great well deserving life can be. The reality is that some of us don't have it quite so lucky, and many of us tend to take it for granted and forget to stop and think about the other people who have it far worse. Many don't even care because it has no concern to them, but for others there are many that hurt. I think the general argument is that certain things tend to go unoticed until you point it out for them. As americans we have also become spoiled, that everything we enjoy is at someone else's cost. I do think that these are very compelling arguments being stated. Alot of peolpe are afraid to speak up in a sense or they just don't care because they are to concerned with them selves. But I think that it is nessecary for someone to speak for them, becasue they might not ever have that chance.

Blog #2 Freedom of Speech?

After watching the video on the kid that wasn't allowed to wear his Obama shirt to school, Ive become a little agitated and familiar. I can understand the reasons why he wasn't allowed to wear his t-shirt but also know that it is bull-shit! When this country wrote it's amendments I'm sure they werent to concerned about what falls under the categorie of freedom of speech, which is why Freedom of Speech is our second ammendment for all. Basically there is no such thing, anytime you start altering an ammendmant you pretty much have taken it away just like they did to this little boy. Here you have a little boy who is clearly not into drugs, gangs, or violence and is proud to have someone like obama be his president but your telling him he cant wear his t-shirt. To me it's no more than a contridiction to what the teachers tell these kids at these schools. They encourage you and tell you to be proud of the things that make you proud but then they go and take it away. It's just like anything else in this world thats clearly viewed.

In a way I can kind of see the point they are trying to get across, maybe because it could be a saftey issue and if that is the case then they need to state that clearly. But I do think that they are in the wrong and that it might be that the board of education might be racist and that right there might be an issue within it's self, seeing as how they are trying to teach these kids about equality; doesn't really make sense. I personally think that people take things way to litteral and with the century we our living in today nothing should come as a shock anymore. I also understand that there are certain rules for certain reasons but the minute people start contradicting those then there is a definet problem and should be questioned. High school for me was about the same, couldn't wear certain colors blue or red cause it was in reference to gangs. Couldn't wear nothing with drug or alcohol reference nor could we wear anything with racism on it. Understandable to a point but half the shit they dont let the kids wear now is kind of a joke! Now that I'm older what I'm wearing is'nt so much an issue but can be for some people no matter where you go.

Example: Funny thing I work in the mall and I like to wear bandannas in fact I actually collect them. I was told by mall security I could not wear my bandanna hanging out of my back pocket. I asked them why and they said "it was a gang thing" I told them I wasnt in a gang and my bandanna was all black". They still said that I had to take it out, I told them to fuck off and then I walked away! That actually really upset me cause first off greaser's started the whole bandanna thing and a greaser was usually a mechanic who whore a bandanna out of his back pocket! So it was never a gang thing, they just copied them and ruined it for the rest of us. It's funny metal heads, greaser's and even rockabilly kids are the ones you'll find the most with a bandanna hanging out of there back pocket. I also tend to get that judgment from all people cause I wear all black and I have tattoos. I'm either looked at as a criminal or someone who is in a gang.

So it is everywhere, even at some highschools you are not allowed to wear black because it is considered to be gang affiliated. I even know some parents who believe the same thing; wont let their kids wear black because of the whole gang thing. I don't think kids have too many right's when it comes what they can and can't wear. To be honest it's just gotten worse and it's always the other one's that ruin it for us. I mean it's good that schools do have some rules about the issue but sometimes they tend to take it way to far or contridict what they are saying. I don't think that they should of banned either one, First one was proud of his country and the either proud to speak his mind, we should encourage these kinds of things rather than discourage them.