The development of my literary writing self-portrait is complex. It has grown throughout the years and effectively culminates with a single factor that has ultimately led to my writing successes, the patching of my writing deficiencies, and my writing style: family. My mother, my father, and my older and younger brothers have significantly influenced me as literary sponsors. They have helped me develop argumentative skills and overall improve my literary bearing. This has been the core of my literary sponsorship from the beginning, and because of the familial bond that I hold with them, still today I consider them to be my primary source of literary sponsorship to aid my writing fluency and process.
My parents, Elizabeth and John, have significantly influenced me as a writer. They have consistently taught me how to emphasize the importance of change in my own writing career. The acceptance of other new ideas to be specific. This is evident in their persistence of the installment of the idea that conversation and argumentation in oral context is equally as important as writing, and that the two can work in tandem to successfully develop fluency in either category. This is comparable to a section from a reading by Stuart Greene, who states in his essay, “The metaphor of conversation emphasizes the social nature of writing. Thus inquiry, research, and writing arguments are intimately related.” (Greene 32). My interpretation of this passage is much like how I envision a constructed argument from my parents would be if they were to specifically voice their opinions on how I should view writing and its relationship to conversation and social skills. This has helped me repurpose my writing through my emotional intelligence and interaction with people. Since I have a strong background in personal skills and amicability, I can use my forte to my advantage to also improve my writing skills. For instance, during high school, I would try to engage in lengthy, sophisticated conversations about historical topics before I would write a paper. The scholarly discussion always helped me formulate ideas and eventually led me to write a better paper. This skillset is through my parents, but specifically my mother, who is a very social person and will not hesitate to strike up conversation through any medium.
My mother’s literary sponsorship has guided me through even the toughest of social situations and metaphorical blockages, such as complicated social situations within my friend group, holding respect for individuals, and making up for my mistakes. During the first half of my senior year, I had to navigate through intense drama within my friend group, which led me to improve my writing about related topics in psychology class. I think this teaching from my mother relates to a literary sponsor as does the writing blocks Ray Bradbury speaks of in his talk. He essentially says that when a writer experiences writers block, they should immediately stop writing and pursue other options because there is no objective in writing other than joy, and if there is it is untrue to the writer and they are outside of themselves. This is similar to the sponsorship from my mother through social situations because of the persistence and patience she has taught me when an environment may not be ideal for social stimulation, therefore helping me push through social barriers and continue to converse. Since social contexts of conversation and argumentation relate to writing as mentioned earlier, I can learn to write well and discover myself as a writer through my social talent, which is facilitated by my mother.
My father also holds a significant role as a literary sponsor in my repurposing as a writer in that he provides the voice of reason and morality into my point of view and perspectives. Additionally, his experiences have developed my idea of success and shaped my life goals, they constantly remind me of the importance of work ethic and sacrifice, while serving as a medium to write about dedication and future plans. For instance, coming to VMI. Upon his graduation in 1990, like any other alumnus, he dearly missed the school, continually talking about his experiences even still today. This has helped shape my repurposing as a writer because I try to model that appreciation into my own writing and form ideas that I can look back on and respect for their relevance and complexity. This relates to Ray Bradbury’s experiences with his grandmother when she would work in the kitchen when he was a child. In his talk he speaks of instances when he would watch her cook and assist in the process, and later he would write about his grandmother’s and his experiences in the kitchen. This is relatable to my father stimulating my writing of his experiences and how I shape my own to achieve my goals, much like him. I remember the football games we would go to together and I often think about how those experiences influence my character in writing. Literary sponsorship has been the most influential factor in my writing and is accountable for a large amount of the success I am lucky to have in literary facets of my life because of their own values and persistency in sponsoring and leading me to learn how to be myself.
In addition to my parents, both of my brothers can easily be attributed with literary sponsorship in my life. In this sense however, my brothers have two separate roles in how they each influence my literacy. My older brother William, a math major at Virginia Tech, affects me like my father, in a structured, sophisticated manner, but he is wittier and more clever in his practice. Of the entire family, he is the most critical and specific about his writing. For example, there was a point in time when he offered to edit one of my papers for an academic assignment. As it was a kind offer, I accepted. However, when I received back his edit suggestions, they extended over a page in length. I was astounded at how picky he actually was with items that seemed so arbitrary. This attitude is imperative to his personality but is helpful in general in that there is always room for improvement. He also influences me to include elements in writing that cause the reader to question and ponder the motivations behind the writing. He helps me understand the importance of mood and how significantly credibility is affected by scholarly tone. Another important portion of his sponsorship is his emphasis on reading, and how copious amounts of reading has benefitted him and improved his own writing. This importance of reading is well embodied by Idea Paper #40, which explains the cruciality of reading skills in college and how they are necessary for success in all facets of academia and specifically their positive impacts on writing. The paper is organized into 14 points which is also comparable to the sponsorship of my older brother because of his focus on organization and structure in his personal life. His sponsorship has helped me grow in increments throughout my life and is effective because of its clarity and structure which I now incorporate into everyday writing.
Ray Bradbury talks about how writing should be joyous and nothing less in his talk in California, and no one else brings me joy like my younger brother. He is nearly always positive, and when he isn’t, his anger is amusing, and laughter will always help him leave his fiery state. His sponsorship is unique in that he has no idea that he even is a sponsor to me, but in fact he is one of the most important. He helps me find the joy in writing and therefore guides me to Bradbury’s purpose of writing, which is joy in itself. For example, I always find myself laughing with my younger brother no matter the circumstance. On one occasion, I had just received terrible news about a friend’s health, but my brother was extremely persistent and was able to bring me out of a deep hole of anger and confusion just by his presence. The bubbly nature of my younger brother significantly impacts my literacy in a joyous manner and so then helps me enjoy the time I have writing and avoid negatives that would hinder beneficial growth.
In conclusion, the importance of my family members as literary sponsors in my life is unmatched, and without the presence of each one working together to create the whole would cause a downfall in a certain category simply because of how important each category is. My mother provides social conversational skills to help me interpret writing, my father helps me through his many experiences through which I model myself and use as inspiration, my older brother helps me structure and organize my writing by onlooking into his own life, and my younger brother helps me enjoy writing and fulfill the joy of staying true to one’s own self. Each component describes a piece of my growing literacy and challenges me every day to continue that development.
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