The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me

      In this modern day and age, having educations is truly a life saver and it is very important. It opens opportunities for careers, and to make better money. It is also a way to get by in life and to learn how to be and do things independtly. Without acquiring the knowledge and education, people will end up struggling, and life experiences would be their only teacher. People will always struggle in life and have many downfalls, but many who chooses the right path will least be the unfortunate. The educated ones are in their own “paragraph”, a fence that keeps them in a group, like how Alexie would probably describe this.

     Alexie grew up with books stashed all over his house. He learned how to read on his own just by looking at pictures on a Superman comic. The illustrations from the comic book helped him understand the plots of the story. His father loved books, so from then he had loved books also.

     Indian children were expected to be “stupid” or fail, but Alexie was very different from his classmates because he was smart and knew how to read. It was dangerous to be smart because it was feared and ridiculed by both Indians and non-indians. Indians who failed were more likely to be accepted by other Indians.

     Alexie visited schools as often as possible and taught the children creative writing. He became an influence on many Indian children he taught. They are now writing poems, short stories, and novels. They are saving their own lives. Alexie saved himself by being well educated and becoming a great writer. Growing up, he defended himself from being bullied by his other classmates. He wanted to achieve and be better than what was expected for young Indians.

     All my life I have always been taught about the benefits of getting an education and where it can take me. I use to think that there is always a way for people to get by, even if they didn’t finish or go to school. For some it may be true, but many people aren’t so lucky.

     I can almost relate to Alexie’s situation with his other Indian peers. As I was growing up, I have seen many young people of my ethincity who chose to be “street” smart rather than education smart. But in the end, they have ended up in the same place they started and no where to go because of the lack of knowledge and resource that could have been gained from simply just learning how to read and write. When your young, you don’t realize what is important nor understand what real responsibilties are and what is priority to upkeep the living responsibilty in a household. Many rely on their parents to pay bills and put food on the table and to only watch them struggle.  

     I believe knowledge is power, a ticket to a better life. It doesn’t take a genius to be a better person but only the time, energy, and motivation to thrive and succeed.