The Little Engine That Could: I Think I Can, I Know I Can
Alexis Stevenson
English 101
Literacy Narrative #1
9 September 2013
My most vivid memory of learning to read was with my mom. At the age of three, my mother bought me a book, The Little Engine That Could. Over the years, I learned to read the book. Each night, my mom and I would read it together. By the age of five, I stumbled a little but I could pick up the book and read it with ease. At the age of six, I read it with no problem. As years went by, my mom would pick up the book occasionally and we would read it together. When I would get in trouble or bring home bad grades, we would pick up the book and read it. I didn’t understand the reason my mom did this. I always thought that maybe she just really liked the book. Little did I know, I would use it throughout life. There was a time in middle school when I struggled tremendously in mathematics. I studied hard. I went to a tutor. I practiced material often. Math just didn’t come easy to me. For a while, I became discouraged. I was a straight “A” student but I got my first “B” in Algebra I. I ran home to my mom crying. I had never had a “B” on my report card and my feelings were hurt. My mom talked to me and promised it would be ok but none of those things helped. I felt like a failure in math. Before bed that night, my mom came in with the book, The Little Engine That Could. She read it to me and then asked me to read it aloud, myself. After I read the book in full, she told me that I could do anything I put my mind to.. From that day forward, I went into math with a sense of determination. I still struggled for a while but I did not give up. Eventually, I got an “A” out of math and felt very proud of my accomplishent. In highschool, I was very active. I was apart of as many organizations as I could handle. I always tended to succeed at most that I did. I was a superior flute player, awesome cheerleader, excellent dancer, and I had a great passion for a student government which made me a great leader.
English 101
Literacy Narrative #1
9 September 2013
My most vivid memory of learning to read was with my mom. At the age of three, my mother bought me a book, The Little Engine That Could. Over the years, I learned to read the book. Each night, my mom and I would read it together. By the age of five, I stumbled a little but I could pick up the book and read it with ease. At the age of six, I read it with no problem. As years went by, my mom would pick up the book occasionally and we would read it together. When I would get in trouble or bring home bad grades, we would pick up the book and read it. I didn’t understand the reason my mom did this. I always thought that maybe she just really liked the book. Little did I know, I would use it throughout life. There was a time in middle school when I struggled tremendously in mathematics. I studied hard. I went to a tutor. I practiced material often. Math just didn’t come easy to me. For a while, I became discouraged. I was a straight “A” student but I got my first “B” in Algebra I. I ran home to my mom crying. I had never had a “B” on my report card and my feelings were hurt. My mom talked to me and promised it would be ok but none of those things helped. I felt like a failure in math. Before bed that night, my mom came in with the book, The Little Engine That Could. She read it to me and then asked me to read it aloud, myself. After I read the book in full, she told me that I could do anything I put my mind to.. From that day forward, I went into math with a sense of determination. I still struggled for a while but I did not give up. Eventually, I got an “A” out of math and felt very proud of my accomplishent. In highschool, I was very active. I was apart of as many organizations as I could handle. I always tended to succeed at most that I did. I was a superior flute player, awesome cheerleader, excellent dancer, and I had a great passion for a student government which made me a great leader.