Category: Unit 1 (Page 3 of 17)

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 aunt  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 I  already knew all of my classmates so that used to help me feel more animated.  My experience studying in Puerto Rico was very joyful.

When I  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.  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 that  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 Mendez  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 that  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.

This very moment as I am typing this essay. I get filled with the nostalgia of my mom calling me from a block away as I am outside playing football on the street with the older boys or riding my bike with my friends. “Christian, come inside we have to work on your writing”. I reluctantly say goodbye to my friends and proceed to head back inside. My stimulated mind would always be flooded with different thoughts. None of which however, had anything to do with the work that I would be doing. “When can I take a break”, “Why am I the only one that doesn’t get to stay outside” ,“Will I be able to finish this & go back outside to play before it gets dark”. Suddenly, I awake from my daydreaming from the sound of my mother yelling at me to focus on my work. She constantly portrays the strict demeanor of a teacher throughout our reading and writing session, which I often think that this is my mother way of fulfilling her desire to become a teacher.She would always tell me stories about her childhood dreams of being a teacher and her old part time teaching jobs that she took while studying in college. She always had her sights set on educating the youth one day “until I came along”, as she phrases it.

 Despite my constant disinterest in improving my literature, I feel as if it eventually started to pay off, starting in my late middle school/early high school years. My English teachers would often give reports such as “He uses such advanced vocabulary in his writing” and “he articulates himself very well for his age” much to both me and my mom’s surprised. These positives remarks from my teachers boosted my confidence and slightly increased my interest in improving my literature. I enjoy being rewarded for my actions, much like everybody else because It fuels my ability to improve on whatever task or challenge that I am dealing with. 

I also discovered many other uses of writing during this time. Being able to write my thoughts down on a piece of paper, or in this instance typing my thoughts down on a computer, allowed me to express myself in ways that I would be unable to in a face to face conversation. Writing allows you to gather your thoughts in a seemingly infinite amount of time rather than all the pauses and stutters that would occur when responding in a restricted amount of time while having a verbal conversation with someone. I also fell in love with the use of clever rhyme schemes and metaphors used in a lot of poetry and rap music. Which I would use to impress my friends whenever we had freestyle sessions outside at the park or at the lunch table. The restricted use of words ironically gives the writer more freedom to say what they want and how they want to say it. To think that all this can be traced back to my moms willingness to pass on such a passion of hers on to me which looking back now I am extremely grateful for.

Growing up, I had the privilege to experience education in the States and Abroad. In parts of Africa, most children do not have the luxury to be able to study or go to school full-time. Most kids would even drop out before they finished high school. Classes were not only hard and competitive, but they would post your grades regardless of the position you were in. Teachers and parents would make comments about how if you don’t study hard enough, you might end up like someone who got the least grades and you would never amount to anything. I grew up thinking you’re best was never really the best. Where you would have to compete with friends so you wouldn’t be the rant of the pack.

Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t always bad and we did get breaks that were very much needed. We would never get Vacations per se but we got ‘Breaks’, as in we had to go back to school most of the time in a month or 2 two at most. Personally, I didn’t like the way we were being taught in schools, because it was so cramped. The school would start for kindergartners and most other students at 8:00 am, but if you were 7th grade through 9th grade, school usually started at 6:00 am at my school because we ‘needed’ to have morning classes and if you didn’t come it meant that you were missing 30 mins of normal 8:00 class; By the way, these classes were paid for differently than normal schools fees that we had to pay. So basically if you didn’t have the money you would miss lessons that were essential for your graduation.

After 14 years of constantly competing with people in a literal life and death situation, I came to the United States with my average grades. I went to a school that would accept my conditions because we were being rushed and I needed to go to school immediately so my older sister could graduate on time. I didn’t really mind going to the school I went to because it was a totally different experience than what I thought ‘American Highschool’ would be like. During my time there with my sister I got to learn that although studying is important, I also need time for myself. I could barely sleep back in Africa because all my sisters were in a sense smarter. I always felt like I had to compete with people. I felt like I always needed to best someone. This took a negative impact on my health and it made me feel like whatever I did was not good enough.

If I could take anything from my time in Africa, I learned that though trying your best was important and looking forward to improving it needed, you should also take time for yourself and study at your own pace. Thankfully coming to America helped me focus on things other than studying; it helped me realize that though you might be as good with things as others you could just divert your focus to things that you might be good at. Also failing doesn’t mean the end of the world, but you can take failing as a lesson to find out the things you are good at and build yourself up with that because your best should only matter when you give it you’re all.