Of course I would make a stand with the men of Villa Verde. The noise of it was deafening. The wind it generated roared though the draw below the house, and whipped past me hot and dry. I stared across the river and watched it serpentine through the canopy. The forest fire grew, exploded, and then retracted as if planning its next move. It consumed all in its path. Through tear clouded eyes I saw Luís approaching from the knot of village men. The patriarch asked me, “¿Va a ayudarnos en la mañana, Omar?” I looked back to the ridgeline. I felt the searing heat pass through me. Suddenly, the fire intensified, as if to challenge me. “Por supuesto, Luís. Estaré listo con el sol,” I responded. I came to Honduras to perfect my language skills and to gain a more intimate knowledge of its culture. When I attained my Bachelor’s degree, I closed a chapter of my life. I wanted to know the man into whom I had grown. I thought this was going to mean sorting emotions, desires and experience. Never did I dream that it would mean summoning up my courage, facing my fears, and preparing to risk my life for others. The next morning, as sunlight began to bend over Montaña Verde, I stared up Celaque into the haze and destruction and realized that that was exactly what I was to do. When I was seventeen, life passed like an abandoned raft I once saw on the river by my grandmother’s house. I watched as it floated effortlessly on the current and disappeared around the bend. High school never challenged me and college was being laid out by counselors, teachers and parents. Like the raft, which eventually would be barreling towards the small waterfall a few miles downstream, I was on a collision course with my first “life’s lesson:” that which you attempt... ... middle of paper ... ...oped part of the park to which much of the local economy is dependent. In terms of the self, a summation of success and failure is no measure of worth, nor is it an accurate indicator of who we are. It is in the moment that we define ourselves. It is how we step up to a challenge that etches our identity into the mind’s eye of not only ourselves but of others as well. We are able to demonstrate integrity through the intention that we set to face this moment, and through the principles with which we execute this intention. When I returned from Honduras, I realized I left behind a part of me in the ashes. Anchored by the principle to place the needs of others first, I was able to stand against the tide of fear that once carried me along on a raft. I look forward to facing the challenges a career in law offers; they are but more opportunity to show my own integrity.
In Paul Toughmay’s “Who Gets to Graduate,” he follows a young first year college student, Vanessa Brewer, explaining her doubts, fears, and emotions while starting her college journey. As a student, at the University of Texas Brewer feels small and as if she doesn’t belong. Seeking advice from her family she calls her mom but after their conversation Brewer feels even more discouraged. Similar to Brewer I have had extreme emotions, doubts, and fears my freshman year in college.
We all experience a rite of passage in our lives, whether it be the time we learned to swim or perhaps the day we received our driver’s license. A rite of passage marks an important stage in someone’s life, and one often times comes with a lesson learned. Three selections that provide fine examples of rites of passage that individuals confront include “The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant” by W.D. Wetherell, “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins” and “First Lesson” by Philip Booth.
Like Hyrum, we will face unexpected challenges, disappointments and complications when we leave school and grow from students to responsible young adults. Some of us may experience unemployment, failure, ill health, loneliness and even death of loved one. Nevertheless, how we respond to these challenges is a matter of individual choice. Each one of us is the author of our own story, the master of our own fate and the captain of our own soul.”
In all, I feel that the author’s message was to prepare the reader being the college freshman on the journey to becoming a college student. The author wants the reader to know not to lose what they have learned before making the journey of becoming a college student. I believe that if you stick to what you have learned prior to becoming a college student, and know that this is a journey where you will find success, in not losing who you are you will graduate and will have fewer worries on the
My story began on a cool summer’s night twenty short years ago. From my earliest memory, I recall my father’s disdain for pursuing education. “Quit school and get a job” was his motto. My mother, in contrast, valued education, but she would never put pressure on anyone: a sixty-five was passing, and there was no motivation to do better. As a child, my uncle was my major role-model. He was a living example of how one could strive for greatness with a proper education and hard work. At this tender age of seven, I knew little about how I would achieve my goals, but I knew that education and hard work were going to be valuable. However, all of my youthful fantasies for broader horizons vanished like smoke when school began.
I am Estefania Perez. I am a first generation Mexican-American college student. Growing up we did not have many luxuries. However, my family and I were fortunate enough to take a few trips to Mexico. We stayed in my grandparent’s farm, a remote rural area 45minutes away from the closest city. The houses are still made out of adobe and the night sky is brighter than any city. This is the place where I fell in love with simplicity and where my appetite for adventure was triggered. During my stay I was free to roam the country without any worry but with curiosity, something I couldn’t have back in Chicago. As I grew older and enhanced my education I kept looking back at my travels and knew they held something meaningful but I wasn’t certain what
I left that project feeling extremely aware and extremely at peace. After three years of struggling to find answers, happiness, and a sense of purpose, I began to appreciate my present state of mind. I began to revel in the struggle, confusion, and push of not knowing. And as I approached graduation, my high school experience suddenly made sense to me. I understood life as a system of games. High school was simply one of them. I came to realize that playing games was both understandable and necessary as long as we are aware that we are playing them. I realized that a major struggle throughout high school had been my struggle to resist playing its game. I spent my three years at boarding school governed by my passions rather than playing by the rules of the institution. And in refusing to play by its rules, I made it increasingly more difficult for me to function within its realm.
Throughout my high school education I have been faced with several challenges and rather than letting the weight and responsibility of my life crush me I endured and completed my task. When my father was gunned down over winter break my freshman year of highschool I did not let the struggle of managing my grief along with my studies stop me from passing any of my classes. When the next year my mother was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer though i did stumble I did not allow myself to be overwhelmed by the situation. I managed a precarious balance between school and home but balance them I did. When the
I despised being in front of people, I couldn't stand memorizing lines, and all the songs were so childish. But now, looking back, I see what it all meant. It wasn't about the comedy, the boredom of study, or the hatred of poorly written songs. It was about that one moment. A single moment after weeks and months of preparation. Now I see how not everything we do in life is simple or quick. We all expect for results to be immediate but some situations need time to take place. When we’re working our way up to that moment we see the time as pointless, but when you reach that one moment, the one that changes your life and makes you say “thats it!”, that’s when you understand that it was all part of a plan much bigger than you and
... integrity. Through the Community Action Program I visited two third grade classes at the elementary school that my company sponsors. The school is sorely lacking in funds and many of the children come from homes where their families are struggling to provide them with the skills necessary to succeed in school. I taught the students for five weeks about the variety of skills one must learn to run a business and how various businesses are needed for a city to function. Each classroom was comprised entirely of children from one of two different ethnic groups, but both were from homes where English was not the first language. I believe my affinity for developing relationships with and between people will be an asset both in the classroom and in the legal profession. I look forward to rising to the challenge of constant change and growth in the ever-evolving field of law.
For most people, life has a seemingly generic series of events. From birth to death, life is often thought to be a string of standard moments, laden together in a string of monotony. For others, on the other hand, each day can be an adventure. The transition from high school to college is one such occasion where one could easily become lost in the sameness of those around them. Yet for those who can see the beauty in the differences and respect the similarities between the two; high school and college can easily be exceptional learning experiences in their own right.
It is expected that within a span of four years drastic changes can occur to any person. An example of such case is our experience throughout four years of high school or college; it is a time in which each obstacle that we surpass will become an experience that builds character. We have all left our childhood behind, but we have yet to taste the full essence of adulthood. Within these years of being cast astray to find our own paths, it is common for us students to experience regular episodes of anxiety, stress, and crippling self-doubt.
A nation is made of various things to make it what it is. A nation is composed from it’s a military, its government, its citizens, and its culture. Therefore, this can be the distinction between a country being considered third world or a powerhouse. The purpose of this essay to become more culturally aware, understanding, and experts on the country of Honduras. This will include diverse aspects such as its military, the type of government Honduras has, the culture amongst its people, what type of structures are built, religion, etc. Having a good understanding of these different areas will make you more culturally aware, understanding, and experts on what make Honduras the nation that it is today.
Let’s flash back in time to before our college days. Back to then we had lunch trays filled with rubbery chicken nuggets, stale pizza, and bags of chocolate milk. A backpack stacked with Lisa Frank note books, flexi rulers, and color changing pencils. The times where we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive, but we did. Through all the trials and tribulations school helped build who I am today and shaped my future. From basic functions all the way to life-long lessons that helped shape my character.
Having spent twelve years of my school life in just one small red brick building, the years tend to fade into each other. But the year I remember most clearly and significantly is my senior year of high school, where I finally began to appreciate what this institution offered to any student who stopped to look. Before, school had been a chore, many times I simply did not feel motivated toward a subject enough to do the homework well, and seeing the same familiar faces around ever since I was 5 years old grew very tiring soon enough. But I began to see things from a different angle once I became a senior.