The scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the house, blending with the rich aroma of my grandmother’s cooking—a comforting mix of garlic, onions, and simmering beans. It was late afternoon, the time when the day slowed down, and we all gathered around the wooden dining table. My grandfather sat across from me, his calloused hands gripping a well-worn pencil as he struggled to piece together the sounds of letters we had just practiced. The flickering fluorescent light overhead cast a dim glow on the pages of his notebook, where uneven scribbles traced his attempts at forming words. I watched as he furrowed his brow, his lips moving slightly as he tried to recall the syllables we had just gone over. The moment he looked up at me, eyes filled with both determination and frustration, I felt the weight of all the years he had spent navigating a world that refused to wait for those who couldn’t read. The noise of distant conversations, the clinking of dishes in the sink, and the occasional hum of a passing car outside barely registered as I sat there, willing him to remember. But as the smell of my grandmother’s stew thickened in the air and the soft shuffle of her steps neared the table, his focus wavered. A small, resigned smile crossed his face. “Let’s stop for today,” he murmured, reaching for his cup of coffee. I nodded, knowing that while the words may have slipped away for now, the fight to reclaim them wasn’t over.

What happened:
In this brainstorm class we were proposed a question: Talk about a moment where you change your relationship with literacy and language.

My experience with my maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother search for education much later in life is maybe the main reason I am insisting in getting a college degree on my 30’s. They dream to read never died; I feel inspired by them to pursue my own academic dreams.  

What I learned:
I learned how literacy level, brainstorming is not just about listing ideas—it’s a tool to mine memory, unpack meaning, and trace emotional or social impact. When approaching a writing assignment that calls for personal reflection, like a language and literacy narrative, brainstorming helps you move beyond surface-level recollection into critical insight. How to break down the memory of an event into a written narrative.