Hello, my name is Luis Martinez. I am currently a junior at NJCU and my major is Art: BFA in painting and drawing. Living in union city NJ a community filled with hispanics and cultures from latin America. As a career I am currently a tattoo artist and have been tattooing for about three years now. The main reason I entered NJCU as an art major was to improve my artistic skills to provide high quality artwork for my clients. Outside of work you will find me learning and practicing many different art forms as it is my passion. I like to paint, draw, sculpt, design clothes and practice photography and videography in and outside of work. I hope to learn other fields of art, for example learn to play some instruments, wood burning and carving , airbrushing and spray painting. I also hope to write a book or create a comic series. I am taking this course to build up my credits to hopefully graduate soon!

As for when my literacy journey started? Hard to say I remember being read different childhood stories from teachers at school when I was a kid. However I will admit reading was never really my strongest skill growing up, math was really where I excelled at. Earliest memory would be when my mom bribed me when I was probably in the first grade saying once I learn how to read she will give me one hundred dollars. It didn’t go so well… I was just a kid, growing up I had a hard time focusing on what I was reading, the information just didn't retain. I would get distracted easily, but this doesn’t mean I never liked the books we read in elementary school. I always loved the stories! Eventually moving up to middle school and highschool, I still wasn't a big fan of english class it just still wasn’t my strength I always preferred math. However I still enjoyed the books assigned to the classes. They had great stories! When it came to the writing prompts was where I also struggled the most. Later on around covid when we were all stuck in isolation I got more into music! Especially old hip hop and modern rap. It would be songs I would listen to either outside or classmates from my school and even from my dad! Who when around my age was also a big rap/hip hop fan! However I never paid close attention to the lyrics I heard the songs but never actually focused on what they were saying or the message they wanted to send. Since covid had us in quarantine for a few months I really got into breaking down the lyrics, phrases and punch lines from these rappers and just admiring the skill and knowledge they had. Referring philosophers, political problems and just a mix of vocabulary that didn't just rhyme but when combined together created a story and a visual. Rappers such as Tupac referring to Makaveli the group wu-tang on socrates and many more. Eventually it somehow transitioned me into being intrigued in literature! With the extra free time in quarantine I started to research different books and old literature.