One of the largest literacy sponsors in my life would probably be my mom. Ever since I learned to read in the first place, she's always encouraged me to do so, supplying me with a huge variety of books to choose from and getting me a library card (with the Monroe Street Library mere blocks away) as soon as she could. When I started to write as well, around fourth grade, she always read my stories and listened to my ideas—which was a very kind gesture, as looking back, it was pretty darn bad.

Though to a lesser extent, my dad also helped too. Mainly when I was really young, he would get me short books and graphic novels, and sometimes reward me if I was able to finish them easily. Beyond that, there wasn't much in terms of reading or writing, but he has been a part of encouraged me to get into programming.

Though I am now an avid hater of it for a variety of reasons I can rant about if necessary (primarily the author being a transphobic asshole with way too much money, the rather poor worldbuilding with numerous plot holes, and the extreme overpopularity and overhype), the Harry Potter series was one of the first novel series I ever read and somewhat kickstarted adventures into larger and more in-depth stories. My mom was a huge nerd about it, and we owned every book, so it was an easy choice. This turned into a hyperfixation that lasted at least a year or two back in elementary school days.

When I was in late elementary school, I picked up The Hobbit out of curiosity, and spent a few weeks reading it. I was hooked, and it was in a way the start of an obsession with the overall genre of fantasy. From here, I got into Lord of the Rings, which I loved even more. Fantasy has been my favorite genre ever since, both in reading adn writing.

Around fourth grade, I picked up the first of this series off the shelves of the school library out of curiosity and boredom. Although it had a slow start, it eventually hooked me in and I slowly scourged through various public library systems to find the rest of the series. Especailly in earlier parts, little me found it incredibly inspiring, and it's a big part of what started my delving into writing my own stories instead of just reading them.

In early middle school, my homeroom teacher (one of the best teachers I've ever had, just as big a nerd as me in so many ways) introduced me to the Stormlight Archive because I had a talking sword in a D&D game and one of the later books also has a talking sword. I tried it out, and was enthralled in its miraculously immense worldbuilding, intense epic fantasy story, and absurdly complex lore. To this day, it remains my favorite book series overall, and I have spent far too long deeply analyzing the Coppermind Wiki that covers not only it, but Brandon Sanderson's entire Cosmere and the myriad ways different books and series connect.

My most used literacy tool is definitely my computer. As expected for a teenager, I use it every day to do all sorts of things for entertainment, for creative expression, and for communication—playing games, making art, writing, reading, talking with friends, and overall having fun and staying sane.