When I was in my late 20's , I wanted to go back to school to improve my literacy skills. I wanted to better myself in the areas of communication, working with people, and to better my way of life. I wanted to feel good about myself and to help other people. It took me many years to make the final decision to go back to school. I was 40 years old when I joined my first literacy program.

My original goals were to get office skills. These goals changed as I continued my education. I decided I wanted to work with people in a helping capacity, but I wasn't sure how yet. I also wanted to get my Grade 12. I knew I needed a Grade 12 in order to get a good job. I didn't want to be a waitress and work at minimum wage all my life.

I went to the literacy program part-time for three years, working as a waitress in the mornings and going to school in the afternoons. My boss told me that my work had improved since I started to take literacy classes. I could talk to the customers better, make change, and was generally a happier person. But I was also very tired, trying to work and go to school. My literacy teacher helped me to write a letter to my band to ask for funding so that I could go to school full time, but they did not let me. Social assistance also turned me down.

When the restaurant where I worked closed down, I went on Unemployment Insurance. I asked my worker if I could go back to school. At first he denied my request, but he also realized how important it was to me, and he knew that this was the only way I would realize my goals. You have to have a good education if you are to get a good job. After so many years of trying to go to school full-time, I finally got funding!

In the years I was a literacy student my skills have improved a great deal. I went from a Grade 5 reading, writing and math level to getting my Grade 12 High School certificate in five years. My strongest subjects are math and computers. I am still having some trouble with English, but it is improving all the time.

Literacy has changed my life for the better. If I had not taken literacy classes, I would have still been working in a minimum wage job or dependent upon social assistance. I would have been a loner, staying at home all the time and not communicating with many people. Because of what I have learned, I can read more. I understand and use bigger words when I speak. I use a dictionary when I don't understand something, and I never used to do that. My math is improved, and I am more in control of my finances. I write letters now, even to the Premier of Manitoba! I can also fill out application forms and have written a good resumé.

Literacy has also made me a happier person within. I am a better mother and grandmother. I read to my grandchildren and teach them what I have learned. They are proud of me for going back to school, and I am a good example for them to follow. I also have more confidence now. In the past year, I have made presentations in my classroom and did public speaking at a recent literacy play (see newspaper article – Appendix). I also participated in a two year study about my life and the lives of other adult learners.

Most importantly, literacy has helped me to feel more determined to succeed in whatever I do. One of my plans is to be a volunteer tutor for others who have trouble reading and writing, sharing what I have learned with others. The most important lesson I have learned is that: .