Learning Together
Andrew Marchesani
Born in the summer of ‘93, Andrew’s literacy story begins with music. Between the lullabies his dad sang at bedtime and “Fire and Rain”, Andrew learned the power of words at an early age. To this day, the voices of James Taylor, The Beatles, Cat Stevens, and John Denver steady and comfort him in a way that only old friends can. His parents continued to weave in lyrics and rhyme into his life with Dr. Seuss. “The good ones” Andrew points out with a little laugh. While his dad introduced him to music and rhythm, it was his mom who guided the beginning of his reading journey. Every night, Andrew’s mom would have him pick out a new adventure to go on before dreaming up his own. As Andrew got older the Lorax, the Cat, and Horton morphed into the Brontosaurus, Velociraptor, and of course, the king of the Cretaceous era, the Tyrannosaurus Rex. But little Andrew was never afraid cause his mom was always by his side. While this “dino-encyclopedia” taught five-year-old Andrew all of the amazing facts about dinosaurs, it also taught him that anything you want to know can always be found in a book.
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Andrew took this newfound knowledge and traveled through the mystical lands of Hogwarts and Middle Earth. His sister leading the way, he fought dementors with Harry, Hermione, and Ron and stood beside Frodo and Sam as they threw the ring into Mount Doom. As his adventures continued, he became a self-described “person who reads”, working to understand books beyond his years and the boundaries of his age. It was at the age of ten when Andrew discovered how to use his knowledge for good. He read all of the Harry Potter books to his younger brother. Although Andrew did not realize it then, this was the moment he became a teacher. Andrew had fallen in love and is still in love with Harry Potter, and he wanted to share that love, wonder, and adventure with his younger brother.
But, as many of our stories have gone, Andrew's reading habits changed in high school. As more books were assigned in school, the fewer books he read for fun. As Andrew reflects on this time, he realizes that he doesn’t really know when he stopped reading for pleasure. It just kind of just happened. It was through his French major that Andrew was introduced to Zola, Maupassant, and Baudelaire. These authors and the experience of reading their words in their original language was a life-changing moment. No longer adventuring in one language, Andrew experienced poetry, short stories, and narratives in a whole new light.
Nostalgic for the days of escaping into a different world, Andrew has fallen into the words of Marlen James and James Baldwin. Though he can no longer pick up a book and press pause on life like he once did, Andrew still makes time for literature. However, this is not an easy relationship to maintain. Andrew occasionally beats himself up for being a self-described “person who reads” despite reading much less than he thinks he should. But, he has found solidarity in our class and our stories. Through our shared stories, Andrew has realized that all readers go through ups and downs in their reading life. All that matters is that we keep coming back to the stories we love.
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Andrew’s experience with writing is a different story. While academic writing has always been a part of his literacy, he has recently dived into creative writing, though he is not yet sure if he is ready to share these stories. Taking a page from his French writers, he has dabbled in poetry and is dabbling his toes in some short stories. Though he agrees that writing for school is somewhat monotonous, he feels like this style of writing has helped him through his creative writing journey. He believes if words are hitting the page, then it is a good day. Though he admits that he does not always live by this belief, Andrew realizes he is still a writer. Until then, he is taking his writing day by day writing when he can, and maybe someday soon, he will be sharing it with the rest of us. Until then, to quote another classic American songwriter, the rest is still unwritten.