Description

This map displaysshows literacy's I have from my hometown, Charlotte, to my families

vacation spot in Virginia. I love doing anything outdoors, performing on stage, and
getting the opportunity to help people.helping people through teaching or faith. AfterBy
reading this, you will haveget a general idea of the person that I am. When I come
acrossfind activities hobbies I have a passion for, I always want to improve and spend
all the time I have doing them. A few of my literacy's werent always didn't used to be
things I enjoyed doing, however there was an experience for all of them that changed
my mind. People such as my My family and teachers have an impact on who I am today
and what hobbies I enjoy. things I like to do.
While writing this, After working on this project I discovered techniques, or SLOs, I use
to better myself. I want to use these skills to create processes in my writing so that
when I am assigned a paper, I immediately have a plan.I can have a plan immediately
when I am assigned to something instead of stressing out. I want to be able to look at
my own writing along with other people's so that I can improve. I have learned the
basics of writing in high school, but now I want to put them to work!
Method Acting
In August of 2011, I started attending Method Acting classes at Spirit Square in
Charlotte. I have a huge passion for the performing arts and I wanted to hone my skills.
Before I took the class, I thought I was interested in all acting styles any type of
performance including dance and musical theatre but I quickly learned what I really
wanted my focus to be. This That is when I realized method acting was one of my
literacy's. At first, the class started with seemingly pointless exercises such as "The
Breakfast Drink." The morning before class I drank a cup of chocolate milk focusing on
all of my senses and the aspects of the drink. How did it smell? What did the cup feel
like? And eventually, how did it taste? In class, I was asked to picture the cup of
chocolate milk in my hands and then answer questions similar to the ones I just listed.
Although this sounds silly, this This may sound silly, but this exercise is actually a
perfect base for method acting.
Method Acting is a tool used to put actors into the situation of the characters not only to
and make them feel the same emotion but to make them feel it for the same reasonfor
the same reason. I learned that if I had to cry in a scene because athe characters dog
died, I should think about how I felt when my dog died instead of acting out the general
emotion of sadness. When an actor cries, it shouldn't be forced, it should come from
somewhere in order toand be meaningful.

Of course at first there were I had to go through several exercises I had to practice to
learn how to draw on my past memories and use them appropriately. It wasn't until
about six months into the class that I started my work on long scenes with experienced
actors. Even aAfter that I didn't showcase my work until about a year later when my
teacher thought it was ready for the stageI was ready.
If it weren't for my talented and brilliant teacher Linda Watt, I wouldn't be where I am
today. She was patient with me, but also bombarded me with a series of tricky questions
after every scene I performed in the class. QThey were questions about things I didn't
even think I had to know about the character, scene, or script as a whole. I had to know
everything, down to what flavor ice-cream the character liked.
When I heard I was going to have the opportunity to perform in front of an audience of
talent agents, I began working on my COMPOSING PROCESS. When I left class that
day and , I immediately got on my computer to and started researching plays and movie
scripts that I foundthought were interesting. I stumbled across a scene from the 1955
movie Rebel Without a Cause and instantlyI knew that was what I wanted to perform.
My scene partner and I I had a guy in mind that I wanted to do the scene with so we got
together right away to do a cold reading, the first time a script is read through with both
actors. and discuss our thoughts on the scene. He said he really liked the scene and
that he enjoyed working with me, so for the next three months we took several steps to
ensure that our performance would be perfect for opening night. We read the entire
script twice to get to know our characters and to learn about their needs and
motivations. I answered every question I could and wrote them down so that when my
teacher asked about my character, I would be preparedn't be unprepared or caught off
guard. WeMy scene partner and I rehearsed the scene without an audiencealone
probably fifty times, but we only got to perform it in class about ten times. The first few
run-throughs we used improvisation so that the scene flowed without worrying about
lines. and we didn't have to worry about the lines. As we slowly got a grasp of the script,
memorization came into play and we began tweaking little things until "perfection."
On opening night I was more than prepared and had no fear of so that I wasn't scared of
forgetting my lines. and I didn't have stage fright. The nerves and sweaty palms came
from my fear of the audience not understanding what I did with the piece. Ten minutes
before going on, I was able to pull myself together and get into character. I walked out
on stage under the lights and it felt surreal. I performed in a black box theatre so the
audience was looking down on me like in a stadium. Even with the intimidation, I felt in
control because all attention was on me. I realized that they werent there to judge me,
the audience came with an open mind. This made me feel powerful. I forgot about the
audience and got myself into the scene. It went exactly how I wanted it to and I loved
every second of being on that stage. I wasn't the only one who liked my performance

because I had three offers from agents in the audience! The way I I was proud of myself
for working hard and stuckicking with my composing process for three months made me
feel proud of my final product.. I would not have changed a single thing.

Now when I have auditions or get a part in a show, I have a process of how I do things
and I have confidence that I know it will work. Stress isnt a problem, even with I don't
get stressed out about hard roles because even though it may will take me awhile, but
in the end I will love what I did with the sceneit. I learned that I need to take my time
with scripts to fully understand everything about the play and the character before I
even rehearse. No matter if I get tired of rehearsing the same thing over, there is always
something I can improve. Whenever I get stressed, I stop and remind myself that acting
is not a chore to me, I love it!

Religion
Growing up, my parents dragged me to Saint Matthew's Catholic Church every Sunday
and stopped me made pray before every meal to pray. I used to get so frustrated with
them when they would force me to sit up straight and stay awake during mass. It wasn't
until dates that I now consider important, like my first reconciliation and first communion,
that I let God overflow in me so that I could realize my literacy for faith.
In 2005, I received my first reconciliation. Before this, I would pray on my own and ask
for forgiveness but tThis was the first time in my life that I went to a priest to confess my
sins and have them formally forgiven. I was very nervous to fess up to the huge crimes I
committed at the age of seven. I remember debating whether or not to confess to the
time where I didn't wash my hands after going to the bathroom, or the time I lied to my
mom and didn't tell her about my homework. When it was my turn in line, I nervously
walked over to the priests with my palms sweating. He greeted me with a smile and I
instantly felt comfortable. As I began When I told him my confession, I realized how he
didn't judge me at all and as we said the Hail Mary together, I felt my first connection
with God.
A year later in 2006, I celebrated received my first communion. In the Catholic religion,
this is the first reception of the sacrament of the eucharist (the Lord's body, blood, and
soul). It is important because you are essentially letting him enter under your roof. That
day, I put on my white dress and veil and paraded walked in line to the front of the
church where the priest stood was waiting. I put out my hands, left over right, as he
raised the eucharist in front of me and said, "The body of Christ." In return, Then I said

the word I had been rehearsing for weeks, "Amen." I placed the bread into my mouth
with my right hand and something got through to me. I felt like I had been missing out
up until that moment and that I needed to listen to God's words instead of ignoring them
like I had been doing for eight years.
After that, I began taking religion classes once a week which is where I learned got my
KNOWLEDGE OF CONVENTIONS. My teacher made learning about God and reading
the bible interesting and fun. She didn't just read from a book, she let us discuss our
different viewpoints and common beliefseverything. There was something about her
energy and kindness that I admired so much. I was taught the difference between right
and wrong from my parents of course, but I did not know all of the ten commandments
or even half of them. Some of the things I learned she taught me in that class made me
feel guilty so and I began praying before bed every night to ask God for forgiveness. For
example, I didn't realize that if I didn't go to church every Sunday, it was a sin. I learned
that sins were all equal in to Gods eyes, from using his name in vainvein, to committing
murder. As To an eight year old, that was pretty scary. Something that stood out to me
in one of the discussions was so memorable because I could relate to it completely. We
talked about how people don't necessarily try to be as close as they can to God
because they think a minimal connection is enough. They compare themselves to other
people and believe that their winning. they think about people who they believe are
farther away than they are. They turn it into a sort of competition to convince
themselves that they have a strong relationship with God. This was something I could
relate to and it made me think about how I needed to focus more on my relationship
with God because I can never be close enough.
Faith is something I have come a long way with. but a At the beginning of my journey, I
was motivated because my teacher told me, "No matter what, God will always love and
forgive you." Everything happens for a reason. If my parents hadn't introduced me to
their faith, I never would have met my teacher or learned gotten my knowledge of
conventions for my religion. That was just my first few memories involving my faith but I
am still pursuing my faith it everyday because of how happy it makes me!
Running
When I was little, my dad and I would always go on runs and sign up for racesmy dad
would always take me running with him and sign us up for races. We had two races a
year that were traditions:. The 5k Matthews Alive race and the 8k Turkey Trot on
Thanksgiving morning. He always pushed me to set time goals to beat my personal
record and to just keep running. When I was about seven, he thought that it was time for
me to set a goal be able to run five miles straight without walking. In races, if I started to
walk he would grab my hand and walk super fast so that I was being pulled along. My

dad was a marathon runner and ran six minute miles, so it meant a lot to me that he
would stay back with me to keep me motivated.
No matter what During every season of the year it was, he would take me to run on
trails by my house. This is when I began my COMPOSING PROCESS. We would go to
Colonel Francis Beatty Park five times a week, rain or shine, and run different courses
five times a week. It was different from most dad and daughter dates, but I loved it. On
the ten minute ride there, he would tell me what we were going to work on that day
whether it was speed, distance, or circuits. My favorites were the circuits! This was
when we would run for a certain amount of time, do an exercise he had planned, such
as push upspushups, sit-ups, or burpees, and then repeat for about an hour depending
on the day. My dad had a schedule posted o On the fridge there was a schedule to tell
me what time we were going and what we were doing.
To become a better runner, I had to primarily focus on my breathing a lot. If I didn't set a
good pace for it, I would become out of breath and get cramps early on. The way I
learned to breathe had to do with synchronization to ing it with my footsteps. I had a
pattern that if I didn't stick with, I would be in a lot of pain from the start. I also had to
watch what I ate one hour prior to our runs because junk food couldn't be flopping
around in my stomach! Drinking water is very important to stay hydrated but if I drank
too much right before I ran, it would create cramps, just like poor breathing. I have to
feel energized when running and not as if I'm going to pass out.
Stretching is vital when doing any physical activity. I used to find and even though I
found it pointless for my young legs, but now I I now understand why my dad needed to
do it and why he taught me. We stretched for at least ten minutes before and after we
ran. Now that I'm older, stretching is a habit because it helps me avoid injuriesI could
get injured if I were to skip out. The idea of not being able to run scares me. Once on
the trail, not only do I have to set a breathing pace but I also have to set a pace for how
fast I want to run per mile. When I first started trainingAt first, my mile time deincreased
by minutes but months later it was hard to beat it even by a few seconds.
During races, my dad and I had a composing process as well. We would start the race
close to the front of the crowd start line but not so that we were right on the front line.up
front. When we heard the gunshotgun shot, we didn't sprint like the people around us
because we wanted to preserve our energy for the whole race, including our 200 yard
sprint across the finish line. Once we got our pace figured out, we always picked
someone in front of us that was a little faster to make sure we kept up with themstayed
with. My dad would always point to the target and say, "We have to beat that onethem!"
It brought competition into it which made it more challenging but also more funand
made it more fun and challenging. I would stay close behind that person and then when

it came time to the sprint at the end, my young legs could out run about twenty people in
front of me.
Running is a literacy of mine because of I run for the feeling I get crossing the finish line.
As I jog around the corner and see the words blown upprinted huge on a banner high in
the air, "FINISH," adrenaline hits me. My legs automatically speed up taking long
strides. I can't even feel them because my focus is on I am listening to the screaming
audience screaming and my mom on the sidelines cheering me on. As soon as my time
tag on my shoe crosses the line, I throw my hands in the air and hug my dad.
He is the reason I'm the runner that I am. I owe it all to him for being patient with me and
for pushing me when I say, "I can't do it." Sure, he's also the reason for my sweat and
tears, but it's all a part of getting where I want to be physically. There is still a lot of room
for me to grow, but I am proud of where I am. My dad taught me how to have a game
plan and a schedule to stick to when I want to achieve something. He showed me that
you can't just do it, but that you have to sit down and think about what steps you have to
take to get where you want to be.

Biking
My family has always been the type to take biking trips in interesting and unfamiliar
placesfun places. We have been biking several weekends in a park by my house and
taken trips to places such as the Graeyson Highlands to see ponies. One of my favorite
things we do as a family is bike the 17 mile Virginia Creeper Trail. We go over a festival
weekend and camp in a cute town called Damascus, Virginia after we finish. I have
probably done this about eight times, from sitting in a seat on my dad's bike, to riding a
tagalong, to finally being able to bike by myself. BikingThis is something I love doing
and it's one of my literacy's, but I was not always good at it. After one of themy most
memorable trips, I had to use my CRITICAL REFLECTION skills to improve for the
following year.
When I was eleven years old, my family and I loaded our van with tents and camping
supplies thenand attached our bikes to the back. It was time for our family trip to the
Virginia Creeper Trail and I was so excited! When we arrived in Damascus, a shuttle
took us all the way to the top of the mountain and dropped us off. I put on my pink
sparkly helmet and hopped on my matching pink sparkly bike with an obnoxious bell on
the handle. That was my first mistake. It was definitely a bike for looks, not a bike made
for the mountains. That was my first mistake. It wasnt Not even twenty minutes into the

ride, when we came to a gravel trail with a sharp turn. I was going faster than I
should've been and jerked my handles to the right. The bike came out from under me
and I wiped out scraping my leg pretty badly. There were some tears, but I learned that
my tires did not have good grip. I knew that and that if I were going to continue to bike
next year, I would need to invest in a good mountain bike.
I brushed off the gravel and hopped back up onto my bike, refusing to let that bring my
trip down. The next thing I should have done differently was wear less layers. Yes it was
Spring, but as you get up into the mountains, it becomes chilly enough for a jacket. I get
cold easily like my mom yet I and didn't listen to her when she told me I would get hot
fast since we would be biking. So I wore sweatpants over my shorts, a sweatshirt, and a
long sleeve shirt over my tank top. We had been biking for about thirty minutes since my
fall and I was already drenched in sweatsweating so badly. I had to askforce everyone
to stop so that I could take off all of my excess layers. I learned that I should have
listened to my mom's advice and only worn a light jacket that could be taken off quickly.
After that, we rode for about two hours in the canopy of the woods and it was beautiful.
Because I have done the trail so many times, I can picture it so clearly. Everything was
so green and the wind kept me just cool enough so that I was barely sweating. Every so
often I would hear, "On your left," because my brother loved to pass me and be the
leaderahead of our family. We crossed a huge wooden bridge over a river and stopped
to take our annual family photo. After that, Wwe decided to take a break and eat our
packed lunch down by the water. This is when another mistake of mine came into
playwas noticed. That morning, my parents told me to double check my day bag to
make sure I had everything I needed, such as my food. I told them I had when actually I
was lazy and positive I packed everythingbeing lazy. With my luck, I had forgotten my
whole lunch in the car at the bottom of the mountain! As you can imagine, my parents
weren't happy. Especially because and everyone had to donategive some of their food
to me.
Of course we still had a great time and got along for the majority of it. After our trip that
Spring I got a new bike, wore the proper clothing, and triple checked what I packed. I
have become a more experienced biker and taken my friends on trails over the summer.
There is something about watching nature fly by all around me when biking that I loveis
beautiful. I can only hear sounds in the trees and my tires hitting bike a long the ground.
Every time I go biking, I subunconsciously notice things I could improve ondo better the
next time to enjoy it or challenge myself more. Biking is something my parents
influenced me to do and I'm so thankful they did.

Tutoring

My sister, Jessica, is currently a senior at UNC Chapel Hill searchinglooking for medical
schools to apply to when she graduates. Unlike most people who want to go into the
medical field, she is majoring in Spanish so that one day she can be part of a program
called Doctors Without Borders. This program takes doctors around the world to help
sick or and injured people in less fortunate countriesareas. Needless to say,That is just
one reason why I look up to her for being the person that she is.
Jessica has always wanted to help people in any way she could. Because she's going
into the medical field, you can imagine how easily math comes to her. Ever since
elementary school she has helped me with my math homework because the subjects
that are challenging to me, come easy to her. I wouldn't always understand the way my
teachers taught new ideas and problems because I am a visual learner. For example,
when learning my multiplication tables, I had a set of base ten blocks at home that my
sister would pullget out to help teach me. When I got into more advanced math
classesharder maths, such as trigonometry, she would draw pictures on our bathroom
mirror so that I could see where all of the numbers in the problem were coming from.
Three years ago, when my sister went to college, I actually started tutoring a girl named
Lily that the girl Jessicamy she had been helping. I used my CRITICAL READING skills
to remember how my sister explained everything to me, so that I could fill in for her.
Before I could even help Lily her with her homework, I had to see what levelwhere she
was at and the way how she learned. Lucky for me, she was also a visual learner! I
pulled out her homework to find We pulled got out her homework and I saw that she
was learning algebraic equations, word problems, and inequalities. I thought back to
when my sister helped me solve these types of problems by creating relating it to stories
and using things like pencils and erasers as props. I started creating word problems to
get her to understand the concept first. I made up stories such as, "Linda went to the
store to buy 4 pencils. The total cost was 8 dollars. How much did each pencil cost?"
We got out pencils and money and sure enough after about three problems similar to
the one above, she started catching on.
The next time I tutored Lilyher, instead of helping with her homework, I reviewed her
most recent testlast test to see which type of problems she was getting wrong. I
remember seeing that she just wasn't understanding larger algebraic equations, so I
created another story about field trip dues to make it more fun and keep her focused. I
was constantly always had to keep thinking of different ways to explain things to her but
it certainly helped that I learned the same way and that I had my sister as a tutor when I
was struggling.

When I tutored Lilyher, there was this rewarding feeling I got when I saw the exact
moment it clicked in her brain. Thatis is why tutoring is one of my literacy's. Figuring out
how to explain something to someone in a way they can understandelse in another way
interests me. It takes something that is easy to me and makes it challenging. because
its challenging even though the actual problem is easy to me. I also find it interesting
how one understands, gets to the next level, and improves. Being the reason a kid is
doing well in class and making good grades makes me feel useful. I can even see
myself being a teacher after this experience because I could explain problems to
students in any way they need in order to understand.
UWRT
I have never been a fan of writing. I love the idea of expressing my feelings and
opinions, but puttinggetting those feelings into words on papera page is something I
struggle with. I am a very outgoing person and speaking what I believe or how I feel is
just part of who I am. Throughout the semester, I hope to learn how to illustrate portray
my emotions in my writing and to let my thoughts flow easily through my pen.
My high school experience with writing papers was horrid. During the four years I was
there, I had no help from my teachers for the four years I was there because none of
them understood how to explain writing techniques to me. Whenever I went to them for
advice, it was as if they didn't know what to suggest to improve my papers.how to
suggest ideas so instead they wrote a few sentences for me. They always thought I
was stumped on what I wanted to write about but that wasnt the case. didn't have plan
of where I wanted to go with the paper but I just needed to know how to structure my
ideas in the form of an essay. Sure, all of my teachers every year they would go over
the basic structuring such as the paragraph structure about having an the layout of
introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraphs, but it just stressed me out
even more. Two words that I learned to hate in high school were "thesis statement." I
was told that this was the last sentence of the first paragraph and that it should
summarize the body paragraphs. But then againbut not really because you don't want to
give away your whole paper. What does that even mean? It's very contradictory. Senior
year when I would go to my teacher for help and when I would go to my teacher senior
year with my thesis statement, she would just hand it back and say try again. She
wouldn't give me any guidelines or pointers, assuming I would figure it out. I got a 78 on
that paper. When I found out I had to take this University Writing class I was already
stressed. When I found out it was at 8:00 a.m., I worried even morefelt even worse.
I am not lying when I say I don't really mind taking this class. Of course waking up at
7:30 a.m. isn't fun, but after doing this Literacy Map Assignment, I already feel like I'm
improving. It wasnt isn't easy, but writing about things I love, or my literacy's, comes

natural to me. Barely ever did I not know what to write next, but I did have some a little
trouble placing ideas in the right order and coming up with a tidy conclusion for each
literacy without being repetitive.
I am looking forward to becoming a stronger better writer and expanding my vocabulary
by the end of the semester. I'm glad that UNC Charlotte requires this course because I
think it will be very helpful and essential for my future in other classes. Im looking
forward to reading this in a few months I can't wait to look back on this writing to see my
the progress and see how far I will have come as a writer. Hopefully in a few months
writing will become one of my literacy's!