Flores-Rosario 1

Bryan Flores-Rosario
Mrs. Knudsen
UWRT 1103
10 September 2014

English was not my first language, however Spanish was. This means that English
was taught to me through a number of different forms such as reading, watching TV, and
also getting read to by my parents. These helped my understanding of this once foreign
language and now I am so thankful for my advances in English. My literacy in English
has been developed and strengthened throughout the years and have led to my current
ability to communicate my ideas thoroughly and effectively.
When I first moved to the United States from Puerto Rico, I only knew Spanish,
but after a couple of months of dealing with the awkward language barrier, I realized that
I needed to learn this language in order to make it through school. I confronted my mom
and she started off by buying movies in English so I would catch onto some words. I
would sit and watch Barney and Friends for hours on end, initially not knowing what the
words meant, but eventually using the context and the reactions of the characters to have
a semi-understanding of the words. Initially I just learned how certain words made others
feel not what they truly meant. Unknowingly, I was grasping the intense effect words had
on people at the age of 4.
After memorizing several episodes of Barney and Friends, my mom started to
read books to me. No book stands out but all I remember is that I eventually became
fluent in the language, all because I realized how necessary it was to be able to

Flores-Rosario 2
communicate my thoughts to those around me in their language. I wouldnt be where I
am today without my advancement in language.
Throughout elementary school and middle school, I started to pick up a hefty love
of reading. These books ranged from large chapter books to simply school assigned
books. You could find me nose deep in a book whenever I had free time. I ate through
books left and right. One book that solidified my love of reading was Bud Not Buddy by
Christopher Paul Curtis. The plot line is foggy but I remember that it was a
bildungsroman story. After that I went on a rampage of learning bigger and better words
to add to my vocabulary to start my coming of age.
My newfound vocabulary allowed me to become runner-up at district spelling
bees two years in a row. Looking back at it, its pretty amazing how I went from having
English as a second language to beating native speakers at a spelling bee. In theory, I
dedicated myself to never be picked on due to my language deficiency so I would excel
in parts that others took for granted such as how to use stronger words in essays and so
forth. This has helped me to consider public speaking for the future due to my foundation
of vocabulary.
Around the start of my high school career I started to lose my love of reading due
to school assigned books such as To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. These classic
books droned my once optimistic view of literature. Luckily, this love sparked up once I
reached my AP Literature class in senior year. Once we started to analyze books and find
their true meaning, my love flourished to new heights than before. It ignited my mind to
read again. The class showed me that not everything is superficial and that there are
trends in stories. This intrigued me and I have never looked at a book the same ever

Flores-Rosario 3
again. This has been such a blessing because now I even look at movies and analyze them
for Christ figures and other symbols. This made me realize that the words printed on
paper are simply a portal to the world hidden underneath which is mostly skewed worlds
where nothing is as simple as it seems. This initially blew my mind but then I was
fascinated and continued to read. This new found realization led me to reread old books
to see if their was deeper symbolism involved and most times I was not disappointed.
This reinvented my original thoughts to the storyline and gave me newfound
interpretations of these stories.
My writing skills were developed in a totally different manner. My mom didnt
start to teach me how to write until I was settled into reading effectively, that way I
would be able to write coercively. Unfortunately my writing started off very ineffective
and rudimentary while others were way ahead of me. I would constantly misspell words
because of my Spanish language beginnings where its written exactly how it sounds.
English is a tough language to adapt but it pays off immensely in the end for educational
reasons.
My writing was platonic throughout elementary school and middle school, but
when I reached high school, my teacher called me out and told me that I had to reinvent
my writing skills. I took her advice and by the end of the year I had changed my C grade
papers into A grade papers. I took writing seriously because nothing is more important
than being able to communicate your ideas and thoughts onto paper for those around you
to understand you.
I had another writing revolution junior year of high school when I took AP
English Language. Learning about rhetorical devices and the implementation of these

Flores-Rosario 4
devices solidified my writing skills to a whole new level. No other class helped my
writing better than AP English Language. After that class, I could tackle any essay
without hesitation knowing that I would be able to state my thoughts in a new and unique
way due to the arsenal of devices at my disposal.
My literacy development has been rickety and not uniform, but I wouldnt trade it
for anything. I would not be where I am today without all of the people who helped me
reach the level of education that I am at. English has been difficult to learn but so
adventitious towards the implementation of my thoughts in words.