Memory Essay

August 8, 2015

Dear Mr. Solis,

“Memory is a way of holding onto the things you are..the things you never want to lose.” The feelings you get when speaking about an old memory are indescribable. As a child my first language was Spanish, remembering the story of how I learned to read and write reminds me of how I had to move to a new country, learn a new language, meet new people and experience new things. I had to overcome a lot of obstacles at a very young age. Learning English was probably one of the hardest circumstances I’ve had to do. Not only was I learning a new language but I was also taking in information in a foreign language. At the age of 4 it was a lot to take in.

Putting all your thoughts together and actually putting your mind into your past life and writing down 16 years of your life makes you overthink. I know I haven’t really lived for that long but that makes me realize how far I’ve gotten and how much more I need to improve. I’m proud of the person I am today, a 4 year old little girl who didn’t know not one word of English besides the word “yes” but had no idea what it meant, now 16 years old in an AP English class

(and other AP/Honors classes) and couldn’t be anymore proud of myself. This is only the beginning, I am aware that I have to put in more work to get where I want to be, which is having a career as a marine biologist or my alternative in business management.

Throughout the years that I’ve grown I’ve met a lot of people but have grown apart from most of them. When you ask me if I’ve met new people so far into my Junior year, the answer is no, I haven't. I’ve met aspects of people but haven’t effectively coped with anyone. I know peers in my class that had to overcome the same obstacle of learning a new language just like me. I also know other students in class who don’t find joy in reading but they do in writing. With others it’s the opposite, they find joy in reading but not writing.

The classmates I have are only going to help me improve. I got really generous feedback on my “Who Am I?” poster. I am very aware that there’s always room for improvement. I can put a little more effort into my work, I can also expand my vocabulary. It’s astonishing how far I’ve gotten in such little time but it could only get better from here, learn more and more day by day and get even closer to reaching my dreams and goals.