Prototype Issue
Living Literate and ‘Happy’
By J Rentería
(page 1 of 1)In the witty and charming way she seems to say and do everything, Annabelle Palacios refrains from disclosing her age, saying that she “no longer lies” and thus, cannot provide any concrete information that may give away how old she is. One is left to wonder, as one is left to d
Born in New Mexico, Palacios became an Angeleno at the age of seven. She attended schools throughout South Los Angeles, eventually graduating from a local high school. Regarded as a charming and beautiful young woman with a penchant for dressing up and looking well, she eventually married, moved to Monterey Park, and had two children. Her life was seemingly secured, and encompassed all of the amenities of suburban living: lawn maintenance, track homes, strip malls and the responsibilities of being the mother of a seemingly normal nuclear family.
Despite the comforts of her family life, she and her husband chose to divorce when she was in her early 30s. For Palacios, the divorce was not the end of a marriage, but also, the end of her denial of an unpleasant reality: she was illiterate. “I never had to read anything because I was married. He did all the paying of the bills and all of that. When I got a divorce I realized how illiterate I was,” says Palacios.
In an effort to help her get on her feet, a friend of Palacios’ taught her how to drive and made her a list of numbers from 1 to 100 in order to assist her when writing checks. Palacios remembers many trips to buy groceries, where she would first park her car then copy the name of the store on a check before going inside. She also estimated how much she’d be spending in anticipation of the amount she’d be writing on the check.
On one occasion, she had a run-in with the number 11, one she often had difficulties spelling. “One time I said this must be about $10 or $12 and I went to the register and it was actually $11. I didn’t know how to spell eleven, so I said, ‘Oh, I forgot something’ and went to go get another item in order to be able to pay for it. That’s how you always have to be thinking. The energy that goes into not knowing how to read or write is so much. It’s just awful. It was the most horrible part of my life.”
Her inability to read did not stop Palacios from becoming a successful entrepreneur. After working for the shipping department at an optometry company that distributed glasses to local companies, she felt she knew enough to do it herself. With the help of her son, she delivered her products to vendors in the downtown area, going door-to-door, introducing herself and her services. “They just thought I was so brilliant, you know, but little did they know I didn’t know how to read or write.”
She eventually lost her business because, she says, “I was divorced and I got real crazy and started partying and everything.” She went on to become a fragrance model at a local mall. Palacios loved the independence her jobs allowed her and that she “didn’t have to answer to anyone.”
She maintained a relatively positive outlook throughout her life which was strengthened by her strong and secure self-esteem. She never refrained from being the life of the party. Yet Palacios was often confronted with barriers that not being able to read and write formed in her relationships. It was “a really sad time” in her life. Despite her frustrations, however, she never thought to seek help.
Her feelings of exasperation did lead her spirituality, finding peace and comfort in her church and actively attending women’s group meetings. At one meeting, one of the parishioners suggested Palacios lead a church group. Flattered but clearly distressed, Palacios refused the offer. Some persistence on the part of her peers eventually lead Palacios to confide in a close friend about her problem.
Despite Palacios’ insistence that she was just too old to bother learning how to read and write, she eventually convinced herself to sign up for the City of Commerce Adult Literacy Program. The center offered its services free of charge.
The program, established about two decades ago, hooked up Palacios with a volunteer tutor who worked with her for several months until Palacios felt she could move ahead on her own. Palacios was eventually offered a position as a Vista Volunteer. To this day she still promotes the adult literacy program and is often the first person you see when you walk into the Center. Palacios feels that her presence prevents other people from feeling like they are “the only ones in the world who cannot read and write.”
To learn that Palacios was illiterate straight through such a large part of her life, makes one wonder who else can be illiterate. Her upbeat attitude, awareness, and lack of shyness, kept her close friends and family out of the loop. Not until she chose to invite her family to a literacy conference where she shared her story to an audience did they know of her illiteracy.
Although Palacios still struggles with spelling and is constantly looking up words in the dictionary to broaden her vocabulary, she is content encouraging older non-readers that it’s never too late. “When you’re old, when you’ve already accomplished everything, you’ve got a home, you’ve got a car, it’s hard. When an older person comes into the program they don’t usually stay because they have no goals. They don’t want to start a new career,” she says.
Palacios insists that options, like that of the Commerce Adult Literacy Program, must exist to prevent or rid homelessness and many other consequences of illiteracy.
“More organizations need to support literacy. I mean how can you better your lives if you can’t read or write. I mean, I think literacy helps stop crime, I mean, if a young man can’t get a job, what’s he going to do? Sometimes we put everything in a box, they must be homeless, they must be down and out, people think. Even religion is in a box, God is not in a box, he’s everywhere. We need to think outside of the box. It’s good to talk about illiteracy because it’s so important.”
“I never had to read anything because I was married. He did all the paying of the bills and all of that. When I got a divorce I realized how illiterate I was.” —Annabelle Palacios
Palacios, representing different organizations, including the Literacy Network of Los Angeles, has attended many literacy conferences where she shares and learns stories. “At a lot of these conferences, I meet a lot of ESL students and they can’t believe that (adult learners) don’t know how to read and write because they can read in their own language. We don’t know how to read in any language at all,” says Palacios.
As well as sharing their surprise, both because of the above and to find out that she too was a non-reader, many in the audience, including readers, often confess to Palacios that they know others close to them that are also illiterate. “They always say something like, my boyfriend can’t read, my mother cant read, and they always come to tell me that someone they know has a problem,” shares Palacios. “I say, if you know someone is having a difficult time, just help them out.”
Palacios’ dedication to literacy is driven by the same determination that has made her a successful woman throughout her life. However, it is her charm and genuine love for life that makes her success truly hers. When asked what her goals are now, she answers, “I want everyone to be happy.”
For more information about the program, check out www.ci.commerce.ca.us/main.asp?flash=1.
very inspiring! Posted by alissa 154 days ago
its a very good article, very inspiring and you learn alot from it..she is a great example..her family should be proud of her!
Discussion