Hello, my name is Antares Lance and welcome to my timeline. I was born in Asheville, NC home of the Blue Ridge Mountains to two wonderful but young parents. My access to literacy never came easy, especially to parents who haven't even finished college yet. Living in the South, in a way has shaped how and the way I talk. The slang and southern accent has influenced certain words that I say, such as "y'all" or "aint". In a way some cultures or places would make fun or disagree with the way I talk, but this is just how I grew up.
At a very young age, I always knew reading was not my thing. Neither was learning for that matter. I always thought it took way too long. It was just a question that defined my capabilities of being a young girl. As a toddler my mom and dad were always busy with school. They both went to Appalachian State University, where they continued their education. When my parents were away with their studies I alway found comfort with my grandparents on my mom's side. They always found the time to talk to me, read me stories, talk to me in different languages (Spanish and Korean), and so much more. With this I had known my literacy journey had begun.
Like any child of the 21st century, I was introduced to school at a young age of five where I attended Weaverville Primary School. I honestly don't have the greatest memory when it comes to my days back in primary school, however I do remember the ABCs and 123s. I remember my kindergarten teacher by the name of Mrs. Shelly who taught me all the basics of learning how to read and write.
My race is what defines me. I am very proud to be of different cultures because I know that is what I am raised to love and cherish. My grandmother on my moms side is from Pusan, South Korea. Her culture is very important to me because its something that I want to carry onto my upcoming family. She would try to speak korean to me as much as she could but I never caught on. I still always try to find time to learn and understand her. My grandfather is Irish and my dad is African American. With this all in mind, my culture shifts my views on a day to day bases. Its assembled me to be the person I am today.
Like I said before, my nana is from Pusan, South Korea. She had came to America with my grandfather after the Korean War. After being in the United States for some years, she started to noticed that she could never pick up English. Thats when she started to go to the nearest community college and take English speaking class. As a kid, I would always watch her struggle with her speaking and the ways of the English language. However, it was always fun when she took the time to read to me and try to talk in English because it not only helped her, but it helped me as well.
I chose the start of middle school because this is when I first started becoming invested in being apart of team sports involved with my school. I had always played soccer and basketball but it was usually with a youth league. When middle school started, it hit me that it was more competitive because we are playing to win a conference. Not a little trophy that our parents paid for, but an actual team that took both dedication and heart. When it comes to my literacy analysis of sports, I look at the fact that I had to know different positions, different plays, calls, moves; anything to make me a better player. In the end, it resulted in me becoming one of the top players of my middle and high school teams in soccer, basketball, and volleyball.
During the end of my freshman year, I started becoming more involved with the different opportunities Asheville as a city had to offer. One of those things happen to be a paid medical internship my local hospital was offering. It was called Mission Possible and it was a very tough thing to get into. I had to go through a very rigorous group interview that lasted for an entire hour. Even though my first interview was this hard, it set me up for the many interviews I had coming up in the near future. In comparing this to my literacy growth it helped me develop my interactive skills.
If anything there was one class in high school that I will always appreciate and this is AVID. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. This was a class that got you prepared for college and the real world. Whether that be interviews,note taking skills, SAT/ACT tactics, or tutoring availability, it was a class that was very critical in my keys to success in both the literal and outside scenes of life.
My summers during the end of highschool years were always beneficial to me in some way, shape, or form. It helped me gain the expierence of being an adult and having a job. During my junior year, I applied for a paid internship within the program CAYLA (City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy) that was committed to providing students with a meaningful summer work experience, leadership opportunities, and yearlong academic support. Through this program I learned to how to become a professional outside the classroom. I learned to how to talk to elders and those ahead of me because in the end, those were the people that I made connections with and would hopefully seek me out in the future.
After graduating from high school, I had the honor of working with the City of Asheville for the second year in a row. I worked with the summer playground program, involved with the local children in Asheville. This experience overall impacted me as an individual because it presented me with various responsibilities dealing with children, parents, money, and other faculty. With this in mind I had found that my abilities to handle hard situations dramatically increased. For example, I was able to carry intense conversations with angry parents involving their child. This not only tested my ability to be calm, but it also showed my capability of being able to talk to anyone parent or kid for whatever reason was suitable.
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