Literacy Blog: Introduction

                                                                                        An Introduction:

        NJCU had always been my first pick for college because of its extended aid for my chosen major and its close proximity to home. Having lived in New Jersey my entire life, I wanted to go to school in a familiar area that wouldn't intervene with my comfort zone. My name is Jennifer Lazo, a student attending New Jersey City University studying criminal justice. My childhood memories all reside in Union City, and up until a year ago I moved to North Bergen where my parents fortunately bought a house. I'm the middle of three siblings, before me comes my older brother; who also majored in criminal justice. Afterwards, comes my ten year old sister; who dreams of becoming a fashion major where she can express her creativity on blank canvases. 

        Since I was around eight years old, I had taken an interest in law enforcement, policing, and motives surrounding the criminal mind. Spending much of my free time watching crime documentaries and shows, my fascination grew to the point where I wanted to have a career as a lawful authority; primarily a police officer. My mom's brothers were policemen themselves in their home country of El Salvador; so the thought of having their niece and nephew follow in their footsteps surely would've made my uncles proud; those who are still living and those who unfortunately passed away because of their jobs. But aside from the backstory of my chosen major, my hobbies are versatile compared to a "one-themed" mood board. 

        Sports had been an avocation for me when I wasn't engrossed in pages of many books I would read. During recess, I would play soccer with my elementary school friends, summer recreation consisted of countless pool trips and games of dodgeball, and in my freshmen year, I was on the school's basketball team. My athletic "image" soon averted to creative art, where up onto present-time; I became enthralled with photography. At fourteen, I saved up enough money to buy myself a camera, a Canon Rebel T-7. With a good duration of taking pictures, each film I held was a visual representation that voiced "telling a story through images". Instagram became an extended platform for me to express these photos; where I transformed physical prints into digital posts that more people are welcomed to see.   

        As someone who can be described as a shy person when public speaking; writing as a "free zone" has helped me overcome that fear. I've always enjoyed literature, writing narratives, and forming poems from a scratch of vulnerable emotions. In middle school, my seventh grade teacher assigned the class to a "poetry cafe" where students were free to write and voice their stories. She inspired me to make contact with my inner thoughts, and to write those thoughts down as a way to "recognize" my own being. I loved poetry. I loved creating scenarios in my head and displaying them as stories through stanzas. My enjoyment for reading surely played a role in my extended vocabulary. For every novel I read, I was able to pick up on new words and use them when writing any composition. I give thanks to my seventh grade teacher for "inviting" a sense of relief to me through the method of paper and pen, as the aspiration of creative writing allows me to be expressive.