Joshua Wooi
English 250
January 22nd, 2019
Literacy Autobiography
For as long as I could remember, I have struggled with proper articulation in verbal communications. For one reason or another it’s difficult for me to convey thoughts and ideas into fitting sentences and I generally avoid talking when it isn’t absolutely necessary because of it. My English teacher noticed this peculiarity early on when I was in primary school (elementary school equivalent), and with good intentions, she decided to place me in a public speaking competition because she believed it could encourage growth in me. In that competition, there was an impromptu speech section where contestants are asked to deliver a speech with very little time to prepare beforehand. When I was informed of this, I avoided doing the necessary preparations for the competition out of fear and anxiety. Lo and behold, I was not prepared for when the day eventually came, and for the entire duration of the “speech” that I was supposed to give, I froze up and said nothing while holding back pathetic tears. The judges eventually put me out of my misery and let me go when it became clear that the fat kid on stage was just wasting everyone’s time. I still remember the prompt to this day—“My School”. Many lessons could be taken from that experience, one of which, is to put in the work to be prepared!
When I was in year five (fifth grade equivalent), still in primary school, the school held an essay writing competition. And unlike the previous example, this was a positive experience for me. The competition was classified into three separate groups: Lower for year one and two, Middle for three and four, and Upper for year five and six. The essays submitted in any one of these groups would be graded and held in equal regards, which immediately put me and everyone in my year at a disadvantage against the students a year ahead of us. This definitely put a damper on my spirits going into the competition, but I believed I spared no effort in putting out my best work. The exact prompt escapes me, but to cut a long story short, I won third place. Never in my life had I felt as validated as the moment when I walked past a bunch of humiliated year six losers, which were seated in front of the auditorium, to accept my award. I do not believe there was any lesson learned from this experience that was of significant benefit, but it definitely was a shot in the arm for my general progress as a writer and communicator.
To conclude, these experiences contributed in putting my foot forward in growing and improving in my English literacy and my overall grasp on being an effective communicator. However, there will always be room for improvements, and I do not see myself as someone that would settle for less.