My MA#1 was important because it helped me understand that literacy is not one simple skill. Before this assignment, I usually thought about literacy as reading, writing, or speaking a language. Through writing MA1, I realized that literacy also includes knowing how to function in different social and institutional spaces.
For example, the way I communicated in school was different from the way I communicated in the army. In school, literacy meant understanding classroom expectations, academic Hebrew, written assignments, and teacher feedback. In the army, literacy became much more urgent. As a combat medic, communication had to be fast, clear, and precise. Tone, command structure, and urgency mattered because communication could affect safety and real outcomes.
This assignment also connected strongly to code-meshing. My life has involved English, Spanish, Hebrew, and different cultural identities. Instead of seeing those as separate parts of myself, MA1 helped me understand that my writing can reflect the way these identities overlap. Code-meshing allowed me to think about how different languages and experiences shape my voice.
MA1 also connected to literacy sponsors, especially through Deborah Brandt’s concept. In my essay, I discussed how schools, Ulpan, the army, and universities all acted as sponsors of literacy. They supported my learning, but they also shaped what kind of communication was valued. For example, Hebrew tutoring helped me adapt, but it also pulled me away from other subjects. Ulpan helped me improve, but it also made me feel tested and exposed. These experiences helped me see that literacy is shaped by systems, not only by individual effort.