Luka Vardoshvili

Project #1

I am originally from Georgia (country). I moved in united states more than three years ago and I was only 15 years old by that time. The first time when I moved in united states, everything was unusual and out of order for me. Different type of people, mixed religions and cultures, different communication language and many others. It was really hard for me to get used to a new environment.

In couple of weeks after I moved in united states, I went in James Madison high school to continue my education journey and get a high school diploma. The first year of high school (10th grade for me) was the hardest. I did not understand the English very well and it was really hard to understand the words teachers were speaking, because they were talking really fast and I was struggling to catch up.

I am very sociable person and it was always very easy for me to make new friends. I met a lot of people in school and most of them were Georgians. Friends made high school easier. But there was one thing that I hated in most people I met in school: they were NOT ambitious. They did not care about their future and they used to skip school a lot. They were not the types of friends (people) I needed, thus, I always felt that something was missing. I tried to fill up that missing space by meeting new people. I met older people than me (people who already finished high school), but they always used to tell me that life is very hard after high school (which I agree) and they used to always complain about how miserable their life was. So, I stopped hanging out with team, because I did not want to stress my self by hanging out with them and listen to their complaints.

As time passed and I started 11th grade, I had to get ready for SAT exam. My English was weak, and I had to write SAT exam, in just three months. I had very short amount of time practice on my English skills. I was very stressed, and I had no how to practice in English. I tried to find some tips for my writing skills in internet, but it did not help a lot. When I was about to give up, our English class teacher gave us books, and she announced that we were going to stared reading books. I realized that it was great way to improve my English skills. My first book in English language was: “The Catcher in the rye”. The English and grammar were very hard for me as a beginner. I remember I used to read that book for hours and I barely understood the main idea of the book. There were many words that I did not know. I had to write down them all and find the definitions. It took me about month and a half to finish the whole book. When I finished the book, I read first chapter again, so I could see if I had an improvement or no, and answer absolutely shocked me: I clearly understood the main idea of chapter and I remembered all the words definitions, that I could not remember before. This book made me realize, how much reading one book improved my language, and that I could do even better.

I decided to read another book. But this time, I chose the book that I wanted to read (Hamlet) and It made my English skills even stronger. These two books were very important for me because they opened the right path for me. “The catcher in the rye” made me realize that there is always hope and I that giving up is not an option. “hamlet” showed me that I do not need teacher or anyone to show me the way out (the way to improve myself) and that I can do all by myself.

My first SAT scores were not great, but at least I tried and did not gave up. After my first SAT scores started to work more on myself. I started reading more books, I started working out to clear my mind from unnecessary thoughts, I started to practice more in Math, I applied for tutoring, I joined “college Now” classes and many others. After all that hard work I took SAT second time. I still did not get the score I was aiming for. I tried to apply for third time, but it was too late. I got very mad that I did not calculate (include) that I might not get score I was aiming for, and that I would have to take another time, I should have been ready for that, But I did not give, I applied for colleges and I was hoping that one, of the, four-year colleges which I preferred would accept me, so I could continue my educational journey, and improve even more.

I got accepted in “City Tech”. Choosing, my major was very hard, because there were lot of options. I chose Architecture because I realized that I was really interested in it and also my grandfather is an architect. Now  I have great opportunity continue my educational journey.

This is my story and educational narrative and i want to share with all people who had same problem as i did (mostly students). The main idea of my educational narrative is that: no one is born educated or no one knows something without learning it and working hard for it. No matter what environment brings you, no matter what other people say, never give up, do your best to achieve your goal and use your maximum to somehow see the bright side of your hard work. You might have many hard moments in your life, or you might fail something you worked very hard for it, if you truly desired to achieve it you must try again even harder. Remember that giving up is not an option.