Becoming Literate Analysis

It was a hot August morning in 2011 as my mom dropped me off for my first day at a new school. I was an anxious sixth grader and was uneasy at the thought of being the new girl. Not only was I attending a new school, but I was transitioning from a public to private school, where I had no friends. Now, as a junior in high school, I realize that becoming familiar to a new school was one of the hardest adjustments I would ever have to make because of the many ways it contrasted from a public school. Becoming familiar in a new area of life is considered becoming literate. According to Patricia Aufderheide, “Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a variety of forms.” (qtd. in Livingstone 3). Evaluating how I became literate in a new school is a form of literacy. Becoming literate in a new school included changing my wardrobe, study skills, and personality that would heavily impact my middle and high school experience. Throughout elementary school, I attended a large public school called Westview Elementary. Before I entered middle school, my parents thought it would be best if I switched to a private school to see if I would function better in a smaller setting. I wasn’t functioning very well in a larger setting because I had a difficult time focusing. My parents made the decision to send
At my previous school, I was shy and extremely terrified to try new things. At Silverdale, I came out of my shell, became much more talkative, and tried many new activities that I never would have done at a public school. At a public school, there are so many people that it is hard to succeed and participate in new activities. At Silverdale, I was able to play so many sports and was given so many more opportunities because of the smaller setting. My parents even noticed that my personality had changed from being a shy, timid girl to more mature and