The Beautiful Gift of Literacy

The Beautiful Gift of Literacy

“Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.”Oprah Winfrey

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Time truly flies; before we know it, a year has passed. Why did I sound so nostalgic today? Last year I blogged on the International Literacy Day which falls on September 8 of every year. It was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965. first celebrated in 1966. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies.

I was once a young child who took study for granted and would only want to play all days. And I grew up being a teenager who also took study for granted. However, I never hated studying and I studied hard for my examinations. Fortunately I did pretty well for my school and managed to graduate with a degree.

Looking back now, I enjoyed my study although I might not want to go through it again; I have always remembered the midnight run I had with friends around the campus during the exam period in University. A run after a day of study was always refreshing and welcome for us. I particularly enjoyed the night run as it was almost the coolest time of the day here in the hot and humid weather of Singapore.

I am very grateful and blessed to be given the opportunity to study without having to worry about everyday life back then; I just needed to focus on my study. This is very much the same condition that is given to children nowadays and yet they do not know how blessed they are to be given the opportunity to study. We couldn’t really blame them. I have walked the same path.

What I didn’t know then, “Some 774 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 72.1 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.” And I believe that many more are working hard each day to ‘earn’ their time to study. You and I, we could have been part of the statistics above. However, if you are reading this right at this moment without difficulty, you are probably as blessed as I am. Just for this, it is very good enough reason to be grateful.

Covering the International Literacy Day this year has a greater meaning to me as I take this new journey. As Steve Job shared in his Stanford Commencement Speech about ‘connecting the dots,’ it is amazing how the dots are joining up for me. It seems as if the Universe is pointing me closer and closer to where I want to go.

What I will do today is to share this piece of information with children I am meeting in my new journey and hopefully with this new piece of information, it would inspire change in their perspective towards learning; to embrace this beautiful gift of literacy given to them. It is also my hope that they will go on to share this information with others along their way.

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16 thoughts on “The Beautiful Gift of Literacy

  1. Hilary

    Hi BK .. that’s a wonderful post .. illiteracy is rife throughout the world .. even here in the UK, the standard is probably poor .. and getting poorer with our ‘conversion’ to text speke .. when we probably couldn’t spell or communicate properly before.

    I do hope we’re going to illectualise ourselves, rather than dumb ourselves down ..

    It’s wonderful that you’re sharing with children, and introducing them and encouraging them to learn, absorb and appreciate words and the communication around the world we are having.

    Great to see you – and be with you on your journey .. with thoughts – Hilary
    .-= Hilary´s last blog ..Emoticons- Book Packaging- ebooks what was the future- is now the past =-.

  2. meleah rebeccah

    I never did go to college, so I do’nt have those kind of fond studying memories like yours. However I did go away to a private boarding high school, and I remember HATING the night before a big exam, because I would have to cram every thing we learned into one night. I definitely took being in school and having the time to learn and study for granted. If only I could go back in time and really absorb all that information!
    .-= meleah rebeccah´s last blog ..static =-.

    1. Symphony of Love Post author

      @ Hilary, I am surprise to hear that even in UK the standard is probably poor and yet it could be no surprise as more people are getting used to texting and chatting. I remembered my cousin once told me before how he hates people using chat lingual. Indeed it is a wonderful opportunity for me to share with the young. Thank you for dropping. It is wonderful to see you here.

      @ Meleah, somehow I can relate to what you said; I did the cramming too … but maybe not into one night but into several days. 🙂

  3. jacqueline

    Such a wonderful inspiring topic as always! I do love and really enjoyed my school days lots eventho sometimes i drag the exams and assignements. I had a good school life and i wouldn’t have done it any other way. 🙂 Have a lovely merry happy day and love to you!
    .-= jacqueline´s last blog ..Good things Happy things =-.

    1. Symphony of Love Post author

      @ Jacqueline, good to hear that you have wonderful memories of your school day. I wouldn’t have done it any other way too … or maybe I would, to be more active in school. 🙂

    1. Symphony of Love Post author

      @ Wendy, glad to hear that you are a strong believer of that. Indeed, it is a happy and comforting feeling.

      @ Jacqueline, thank you and wishing you a lovely merry happy weekend. Love to you.

  4. Cathy Voisard

    I laughed out loud when you said that you enjoyed your studies but would never want to do it again. HA! Ditto, my friend. It was a lot of work. But I really did enjoy going to college…I drank every drop of that experience with such gusto! Thanks for a wonderful piece as always. I’ve missed you!!! I’ve been too busy….but did post last week. Have a great weekend.
    .-= Cathy Voisard´s last blog ..Grandmothers suicide said the spider to the fly =-.

    1. Symphony of Love Post author

      @ Cathy, thank you for dropping by again. It is good seeing you here. Have a great weekend too.

      @ Jacqueline, thank you. Have a lovely merry happy weekend and love to you too.

  5. Tina T

    It is sad how much of the world is illiterate. I can’t imagine having to rely on what others tell me because I couldn’t read it for myself. Yes, children do not appreciate the gift of literacy or an education. These are some of the many things that we only appreciate with age in industrialized countries.
    .-= Tina T´s last blog ..Interfaith Marriage- Can it Work =-.

    1. Symphony of Love Post author

      @ Dora, exactly. If I am not literate, then I wouldn’t be able to read your blog. 🙂

      @ Jannie, thank you. You are right that we get wonderful ‘reply’ from the Universe at time.

      @ Tina, it is sad indeed, a lot of knowledge which I acquired was not so much from school or textbooks but from personal reading up. However, if I do not go to school in the first place, I wouldn’t have learnt how to learn.