Literacy is the ability to read and write and is used as part of our everyday lifestyle. I think it is the main part of life and its learning processes such as critical thinking. Without these skills you won’t have common knowledge or sense.
Education takes a big role on literacy. Without education you won’t have the knowledge to read or write. Some people don’t take it seriously such as students. I see students here in America given the opportunity to a free education and they take it for granted. Either they waste years of going or they simply choose not to go at all. I will be honest and say that I was in that place before. I always wondered why I went to school. Was it because my parents’ forced me? Or was it my decision to go? I mean who wanted to wake up and go to school Monday-Friday at 7:30 Am? Not me. If I could go back I would slap myself for complaining because I know somewhere in the world someone would kill to be in my place.
Growing up it was easy for me to pick up reading. There was something about the contents within the books that fascinated me. After a while other things started to catch my attention such as materialistic things and friends. My social life became my focus and not school. I gave up on a lot of things and before I would blame others for putting me down and look for ways to be noticed. The only person here that is at fault is me and now I see myself trying to find those missing pieces and putting them back in. It’s frustrating to learn information you should have learned years ago and I see why my parents constantly push me about how important education is. I learned to change my attitude towards things and not complain I can’t do this or that. Since I’m in college I have to make up for my lost education because I want to and because I believe I can.
It pains me to see people who suffer with illiteracy. I struggle with certain tasks and feel foolish at times and I wonder what they must feel not being able to communicate other than verbally. It would be difficult to be successful in today’s society given that the advances of technology grow and become more complex. Seems like everyday there is a new update and you need to be able to keep up. I feel like our life is like a sponge. Everything we read, write, or listen to, we absorb into our minds. We gather ideas and build our own opinions of what surrounds us. Babies and toddlers are a good example of that. They may not be able to read or write but by reading to them opens up many doors in discovering it in the future. Their brain is twice as active as an adult’s brain so they absorb knowledge faster. Children are so eager to learn new things and constantly ask questions that people who are illiterate should feel the same way and build that drive to want to learn. I believe it’s a choice within yourself whether or not you want to learn.
