Literacy Awakening

Upon first hearing of this project in class, I started thinking of different topics upon which to expound. A few things crossed my mind, each one more uninspiring than the one before. I cannot remember a single moment or a single experience or a single thought that I have ever had that I can remember made me want to read or write. I wish I could remember my mother and father reading to me, but I honestly can't. I can't remember the first book I read. It may have been something with dogs, but I can't be sure.

So I reverted to what I usually do when I get frustrated with an assignment and started poking holes in the instructional fabric of it. Why is this important? Other than the general fact that this will allow us to identify what makes us veritably "tick", what merit does this project have? And then I started really getting into it and wondered if this could be construed as a forcible extraction of self-incriminating evidence? What if I was made to write about something with which I did not feel comfortable, could I legally be held liable for what I write?

Moreover, if the internet is construed as public domain in court, how egregious of a post must I "publish" for my first amendment rights be rescinded? Theoretically, one could construct an infinite number of blogs each with a different combination of the alphabet until hypothetically one controlled the blogging world. Upside and downsides are associated with this- I would have to deal with a million disgruntled Philly fans who, instead of being able to write a blog that no one reads about their group of thugs that they call the "Eagles" (cool name, and since when are eagles green? I digress), must actually search me out to annoy me. However, certain rights guaranteed by the constitution would be compromised if no one could blog anymore. It's give and take.

Now, mind you that none of these were legitimate qualms I had over the project. My being bored, I tend to play these mindgames, for lack of a better word.

And then I got back to the topic of the project, and realized that my literacy moment was learning how to think and form and argue and reason in a logical manner. My father is a lawyer, and he wouldn't even humor an argument I made (more allowance, even progressing to a new car) if I did not present it in a logical way. One time when I was ten or twelve or eight years old, I offered to babysit my three younger siblings ig I got paid for it. He gave me ten dollars for five hours. I told him that was crap. He told me that I shouldn't get paid to sit on the couch and make popcorn and play videogames, which at the time I thought had merit to it. I took what I could get. Ten dollars it was.

A minute after that, he asked me if I knew what I should have said to argue that I deserved more money for five hours. He told me I should have said that the President of the United States is still the President even when he goes golfing for a day- it's not about what you do, it's about what you're responsible for. But he didn't give me any more money. I quickly learned my lesson.

So that was my introduction lesson to argument and thought. I like to believe I haven't looked back since. But I still have a long way to go.