Literacy Autobiography

 Literacy Autobiography

My name is Genesis Serrano, I am a senior at NJCU pursuing a degree in psychology. I hope to use my degree to further my studies and earn a masters in marriage counseling. I chose to master in marriage counseling because growing up I always enjoyed helping my family members and anyone in a relationship to better understand one another and develop trust and transparency. Fun fact about myself… I love cooking! Cooking is very therapeutic for me and has kept me distracted during this quarantine. I am Ecuadorian and my boyfriend is Dominican and so I enjoy cooking Dominican style food as well as Ecuadorian. I also love cooking  different cuisines. I am also a Sunday school teacher and praise dance leader at my Church. On another note, I chose to take this class this semester because I wanted to learn about the significance of history and society on race, culture, and ethnicity. 

I remember starting my first day of kindergarten in PS.96 in the Bronx, NY. I got to class and my teacher made us all sit around the carpet so we can read a story and I remember looking at the board and seeing what seemed to me like squiggly lines and I tried to decipher what it meant. I was an ESL student since spanish was my primary language at home and I barely understood english that well. I remember my teacher handing us a sheet of paper and asking us to write what we learned from the story, but since I barely understood, I assumed she was asking us to copy those squiggly lines on the sheet of paper and so I did. After about five minutes she came around to collect the papers and noticed what I had done and began yelling at me. I remember feeling so ashamed and embarrassed because I couldn’t understand why she was yelling at me and why she made me feel less intelligent than my peers. Thankfully, as the years went by I began understanding English well to the point I didn’t need ESL classes because my ESL teacher made sure I understood every sound, syllable, and vowels. She supported my learning by making me read and write continuously, not only in school but at home as well. 

I also remember having the support from my aunt Erika, who was fluent in English. She would read stories to me in English while my mom read it to me in spanish so that I may be fluent in both languages. I would also watch a lot of children's shows like Dora, Barney, and Elmo that would allow me to think logically, learn English, and develop my literacy skills. I thank my parents, aunt Erika, PBS and my ESL teacher for being able to eventually learn to read, write and speak both English and Spanish. I began to feel literate around First grade because I began enjoying reading, writing, and presenting in class. I would ask my parents for educational games for my gaming counsel so I can stimulate my brain and learn more. I would write nonfiction stories and pretend to sell them to my sister and aunt. Education became important to me, especially since I started understanding that I would end up being the first to graduate in my family. My dad was an intelligent man in all his school years and I felt that I got that desire to learn from him. Thus, my dad wanted me to get straight A’s, and if I didn’t get an A I would feel so frustrated and sought to learn more and study harder.

Consecutively, as the years have gone by I would say that my biggest sponsors and influencers in my life currently are my mentors and coaches in business. They have impacted my mindset, my public speaking skills, my literacy, my knowledge of the world and socio-cultural dilemmas. They have also made me aware of the importance of literacy in students and society as a whole. Literacy plays such a crucial role in preparing students to be engaged and active in their society. How is that possible? Well, because reading, writing, good public speaking skills are the tools any human needs in order to be able to communicate effectively and network with others. It’s also needed to be able to understand what is going on in this world currently. I personally use literacy everyday as a business owner and student. I need to have good communication skills to be able to talk and get my point across effectively. As a future marriage counselor, I need to be well trained to listen and take notes adequately to be able to provide a good service to both parties. That is why I admire my coaches because they continue to challenge my literature and keep molding me to be the best version of myself yet!