I was born in Puerto Rico till the age of seven where I was taught how to read and write. In Puerto Rico I had day care with my auntĀ  she used to basically be my teacher, I remember she used to have a schedule for me just like if I was in school where I had to take naps throughtout the afternoon and do different things like coloring and playing games. My first day of school I remember it perfectly because I was very happy. I used to go very excited because IĀ  already knew all of my classmates so that used to help me feel more animated.Ā  My experience studying in Puerto Rico was very joyful.

When IĀ  came to the United States at the age of seven it was really hard for me to learn how to read and write in English since that wasn’t my first language. At the beginning of elementary school, I received a lot of help from my teacher Ms.Sanchez. She used to take out of her time to teach me and help me. After school, she would teach me the basics of English I can’t remember this part but I imagine I was taught basic words such as “boy”, “dog” and “house”. The school also helped me by giving me someone who will give me a speech class. That benefited me a lot because I have always had difficulties with my confidence in speaking.Ā  Even though sometimes I still feel insecure I try to always challenge myself.

My Mother was always with me and she used to try helping me she even decided to start taking classes so that she will learn some stuff but for her it was more difficult. She will constantly go to my school to ask my teachers for methods thatĀ  will help me learn faster .I just remember In 4th grade before taking classes with Ms Sanchez I started taking classes for the first time with another teacher named MendezĀ  who will only speak English in her class she will never helped me understand how to do the homework or classwork so I used to be constantly asking my classmates for help. One day I was talking to my classmates about the work and she would made me feel bad saying things like “you are in the United States now you need to learn how to speak English because that’s the language we speak here” or “if you don’t stop talking I’m going to take you to the main office” so eventually I didn’t want to go to school anymore. I told my mom everything that was happening and she went to the school talked to the teacher came to an agreement that I was going to be changed to a different class where I was going to receive the help I needed. Since that everything changed for me taking classes with Sanchez changed my environment completely. Now I could see thatĀ  the decision of coming to the United States for a better future was the best decision my mom could of have done for me and my siblings.