Cultivating literacy, nurturing the mind.

I've had a habit of writing and taking notes since I was in school. I'd keep a diary of random daily events, jotting down things I found useful, little stories, and some spontaneous poems... At the time, I didn't think of it as a passion or hobby. I wrote simply because I wanted to, that's all.

My friends often reminisce about their childhood, how whenever we got together, I was the one who always told stories—stories I'd read in books and newspapers. Back then, books and newspapers were rare, especially in remote coastal areas like my hometown.

Our only access to printed books was the textbooks borrowed from the school library. These books were passed from one class to another. Usually, we never saw what the covers looked like or what patterns they had, because by the time they reached our class, either the covers had been replaced with different types of cardboard, or worse, they were missing, or even pages were incomplete.

Illustrative image. **Source: Internet**

Then, by some twist of fate, I became a professional writer, not intentionally, as I already had a stable job. Back then, I read newspapers a lot, so I occasionally came into contact with a few authors. Hearing that I wrote, they encouraged me to submit articles. The first time an article was published in the Gia Lai Literature and Arts magazine, and then in the Gia Lai newspaper, it's hard to describe how happy I was. That was the encouragement for me to write and submit articles more regularly.

Then I became a member of the Provincial Association of Literature and Arts, and every year I also participated in the contributors' conference of Gia Lai Newspaper, meeting and learning from fellow writers. My joy with words was multiplied. I became more conscious of what I wrote and also more careful and meticulous whenever I wrote something.

I often call reading and writing the journey of cultivating literacy. The person who planted the first seeds of literacy in me was my father. He instilled in me a reading habit, buying books for me wherever he went. Even now, in his seventies, my father still buys me books that he finds interesting.

People like my father, despite not having much formal education, possessed an unusually deep and broad understanding. My father was knowledgeable and able to discuss many fields in depth. This was thanks to his frequent reading and research from books.

From what he learned, he guided us. Not only my father, but almost everyone in his generation had a habit of reading and self-learning. They worked in many different fields and professions. Some were soldiers, engineers, doctors, and even manual laborers… but they could also play musical instruments, write poetry, and compose music.

Occasionally, I give books as gifts to young children, encouraging them to engage with the world of words. A book doesn't need to make any sound; it can still radiate positive energy as one quietly follows its pages. A book doesn't need to offer any hands; it can still offer a comforting embrace, soothing the wounds and anxieties of life. A book can make people think and live differently, revealing a light that shines into the deepest recesses of their being.

People who read a lot tend to have deep understanding and broad thinking. Interacting with them is like reading a truly valuable book. It's a form of spiritual cultivation, nurturing within oneself the layers of knowledge gained from reading.

Someone once said: The moment we persuade a child to step across the magical threshold into the library, we change their life forever, for the better. For me, that has been proven true by my own experiences.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/nuoi-chu-duong-tam-post329603.html