Family Literacy

In my immediate and extended family, literacy is very important. I have grown up knowing that it is important to study hard all throughout school, graduate from college, get a job, and keep succeeding at whatever you chose to do for a job. My family truly expects everyone in it to use their literacy potential to the fullest and to enjoy it at the same time. I come from a big family, my dad is one of 7, and my mom is one of 3. I have 30 cousins and so far all of my cousins, who are of age, are at college, have graduated, or are looking at colleges to attend in a few years. In our family community our rules for literacy have great expectations but it is very easy to become a literate member of my family.
In my immediate family there is great competition for literacy. My cousins have gone to a wide variety for outstanding schools such as: Notre Dame, Northwestern, Miami of Ohio, University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Wisconsin, University of Iowa, University of Boston, Wesleyan, and Western. There is a lot of pressure in my family to use literacy in everyday life. It is necessary in all aspects of college life, and especially in the outside world. It is important to take literacy seriously and to not just waste your time and money in college.
Even though my family’s standards for literacy are very high, it is also good to know that they enjoy literacy outside of the school and work areas. My family is really easy to talk to whether it is a casual or serious conversation. This is a good characteristic because literacy is very important in social situations. When you can understand what a person is trying to say because of their facial expressions and body language, it helps the communication go a lot smoother.
In order to become a literate member of my family it does not take much. My family hopes that each individual will succeed and try their best, but if it still does not work out, it is ok. My family is very accepting and the “rules” I feel are more casual than other literacy communities. In some communities, people have to pretend to be something that they are not. But a family is a family and they are always there for you no matter what the circumstance is.
Literacy can be defined in many ways: the quality of being literate, the ability to read and write possession of education, a person’s knowledge of a particular subject or field (dictionary.com). But for my family it is a combination or work ethic and the social aspect. We do not have a particular set of literacy rules in order to be accepted, because we are a family. And as long as literacy is a big of a part of your life as it can be, then you have succeeded literacy wise, in my family.