When
I started to school they didn't have kindergarten then. I felt very
lonely. I could not relate to the other children because I wasn't as
bright as them. I felt ashamed of myself because I could not catch on
to the reading. And each year the classes got a lot harder than the
first year. And I felt more ashamed of myself and very alone. I stayed
in my own little world. I didn't get any help until I was in tenth
grade. I dropped out of school. I was too scared to go on. I couldn't
read or write. And I was tired of listening to people call me stupid
and dummy. It was enough to listen to my own family tease me.
After
I quit school I was asked to babysit my cousin and niece. Then I was
asked to take care of my grandmother who had broken her hip. Since I
couldn't read, I had to learn how to compromise. I compared colors and
shapes of the pills. I kept my reading disability to myself because
some of my other family members didn't know I couldn't read. I also
worked in a restaurant. I took orders and took care of the money and
opened and locked up. And it wasn't easy and by luck I didn't come up
short on money. When I took the orders I used letters and pictures to
help me to remember and then I would dispose of them to keep my job. If
my employer knew, I would lose my job because I didn't tell them I
couldn't read or write.
I admitted to
myself I needed help when my son started school and I couldn't help him
to read. People don't realize how hard it is to not be able to read
with your child, a short story, or a letter. I was very ashamed to let
my son see me that way. I heard about Burke Literacy Council years
later and I went to see if they could help me to read. I wished I would
have known a lot earlier about them. They helped me to find a good
tutor and now I can read a lot better and write. I am not ashamed of
myself and I can read more every day!
-Article from Burke County Literacy Council student
