Sherman Alexie: A Career As A Writer

My Mother slamming books across my face, screeching like a vulture and shaking her head in disappointment was my first memory of learning to read. She would read one page and then left it to me to read the next page, then we would alternate. As soon as we finished our literacy lesson, we would go straight into the math portion of our daily routine. Like Alexie, I grew up poor. “We were poor by most standards, but one of my parents usually managed to find some minimum-wage job or another.” (Page 1) My Mother was dedicated to get me the best education I could, so she would spend her hard earned money purchasing books and paper for me. Growing up, I was never the brightest kid out of the bunch. I struggled a lot with reading and writing, so my Mother made it her goal to try to push me to be the greatest in that. Similar to Alexie, I would never quit. “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant.” (Page 7)

I was very dull in the English language, and it was very difficult to learn. Simple things, such as “May I go to the restroom” was a challenge to say. In the third grade, I moved from Toronto to Siloam Springs. Here I would progress to learn more and more. I would finally understand that there were parts of speech as well as grammar to go with it than just words. Going on into elementary school, I was getting better and better. Not only I loved to read, but I absolutely loved to write. During the mandatory state tests, I would continue writing from the start of the 50 minute period to the end. I was a very creative writer. I could pull out anything and make it sound like a wild Disney Pixar movie. Progressing through elementary school, I signed up to enroll into an advanced literature course in the 8th grade. I learned more about the structures of writing and I ended the course with an