"I was never discouraged from pursuing an education as a child. I was never told that there were limitations to what I could achieve. I was free to dream, and in my dreams I could become anything I wanted to be."
I related to Smith in many ways, but this quote describes my feelings towards my life and literacy the most. As a child, my family realized my potential and always encouraged me to learn all that I could. I had big dreams and they KNEW I could achieve them. Even when I was three, my family TOLD me I could achieve my dream of being a doctor.
There are NO limitations on the things we can achieve. We must utilize the tools we have and learn all that we can because many African American women were not allowed to learn at all.
"Have enough faith to make your dreams reality."- My Mother, Tiffany Glover
-Keiwana Glover
"Schooling was always easy, it was life that was hard, and my life seemed to be one struggle after another."-Leonie Smith
ReplyDeleteThis line is very motivating to me. It is the story of my life. By enduring trials and tribulations in my childhood, I have realized that some things come easier than others. At an early age, I was shown that literacy was the only waY to excell. Like Keiwana said, there are no limits. Literacy introduces us to a world where there are really no limits. By being literate, we surpass the world's expectation of us and we are able to move beyond those before us.
I have always been taught that each generation should take the society higher. There is no way to make it to the next level than by overcoming difficulties. By not allowing difficulties to hinder our progress we can make the world greater. By showing that we can maintain literacy through our difficulties, we are showing that we are indeed "LIMITLESS!"
-Sequoia Boone
What I like most about this chapter was Smith's ability to stay postive and overcome the different issues in her life. The very opening of the passage holds a positive quote that resembled her strength and confidence in being a literate black women as well as a literate black american women.
ReplyDelete"My education, whatever shape it took, would be a life-long process and would become a tool with which I could do the necessary activist work in my community"
With every discouraging moment in the author's life she left no limits to how far she was willing to go. Even as a child her education grew into learning new languages, adaptating to new environments, and etc. Limitless is an excellent word to describe this chapter. No ones literacy or education should ever have a bounder. With every hardship you encounter you learn to move forward to become a more confident person. Learning to overcome is limitless.
-Courtney Sykes
I like how you were able to summarize the passge, allude to your life past and present and also connect it to our experiences here at Spelman. At Spelman during NSO week, we learned about the women who broke down doors to a school like Spelman College established. I feel just like you do. I've always been told that the sky was the limit. I wanted to go to Spelman College since the 7th grade, I kept speaking it into exsistence and just like Leonie C.R Smith did not allow my personal life inflitrate my intellectual life.
ReplyDelete-Jacquelyn d. Patterson
I love the quote in the beginning of your post. Everyone has gone through trials and tribulaltions in their lives and can relate to this story. Being at Spelman and going to the different events during orienataion week gave us motivation to make our careers and succes happen. I want to be able to fulfill my dreams and become successful in life. With everything you go through, you just pick yourself back up and learn from it.
ReplyDelete-Manisha Gilliam
I really enjoyed reading this post. I love how you brought Spelman in. I never thought about how the reading relates to all Spelmanites but it's so true. We all worked hard to get here and we all had to overcome some personal obsticles to get here. I also like how you put a quote from you mom in at the end.
ReplyDelete-Sarita Smith
The quote used in this post is inspiring, something that many of us African American women need to live by. Too many times are our dreams put on hold for everyone else around us. We constantly feel as though we must take care of them before we take care of ourselves. But how can we do this if we have yet to for fill our goal and dreams?
ReplyDeleteWe should never limit ourselves for others to rise above us. We should acually help each other rise up together. That would be a powerful event.
-Adrienne Carlisle
After reading that essay, I sat there awe. I could not believe that a woman could go through everything she went through and still achieve her dreams.I don't want to call myself weak, but If I were in Ms. Smith shoes, I would have lost all motivation. I would have been too tired to put up with all the ignorance and rasicms. Leonie Smith inspires me to be a stronger woman. I know that in the future I will have to put up with people who will break my spirit and hurt my pride. But after reading this essay, I know that as a black woman I have to be strrong, and I will be strong for myself and the sake of my sisters.
ReplyDelete-Maeghan Leonard
"Schooling was always easy, it was life that was hard, and my life seemed to be one struggle after another."-Leonie Smith
ReplyDeleteJust when we think someone else's story is so different from our own, there are a few threads, like a quote that we can assimilate too. Given the mutual feelings expressed by previous bloggers, it is evident that on some level we can all relate. I agree with Leonie and some of my fellow Spelman sisters that at most, schooling has not been the most difficult thing for me. It has been the events and subsequent reoccurring of events with a negative outcome that discourage me from wanting do things, even finishing my education. Education has always been my "prince in disguise as a frog." When nothing else in my life has a positive constant, I always knew for sure that I was intelligent. Unless I had the unfortunate fate of some type of brain damage, I always knew and still know that my intellectual ability is something that no one could take from me. I think as we all continue to read "Readers of the Quilt," we might rekindle old motivations or create new motivations and find ways to indefinitely succeed at what we each desire the most.
-Britney-Myshante Howard