Literacy is important

It is my literacy that gave me the ambition to come to college. I've always been a confident kid, being in the top percentile of my classes, and always been ambitious, knowing I would go to college and make a life for myself. Without and education, a knowledge of how to read, write, and understand, I would not have the ambition or the confidence. I may not end up as known or as great as Benjamin Franklin, but my confidence and ambition will get me where I want to be in life. .
             A literate person, more likely than an illiterate person, will understand what is going on around them; they will be aware, and an awareness of the world around them is very important. This could mean they"re aware of what is happening in the world, because they read newspapers and watch the news and understand current issues, or it could mean that when joining in on conversations they are aware of what is being talked about, and can input their thoughts. One cannot likely recall issues or ideas they have learned or read from their memories if they don't have an education. A literate person can read books and papers and learn information which they may use later. In a narrative by Frederick Douglass, Frederick talks about how he was not allowed to read and write, but he would find ways to be taught or teach himself. He made himself literate. He states, "From this time I understood the words abolition and abolitionist, and always drew near when that word was spoken, expecting to hear something of importance to myself and my fellow slaves. The light broke in upon me by degrees." He goes on to talk about how he heard two men talking about it, and he learned from them how to go to the North to escape and be free. If it weren't for his ability to read, he would never have learned what abolition was, and he likely would not have found out how he could escape. Frederick Douglass's literacy made him aware of what was going on around him with slaves and abolition, and that helped make him a free man later in life.