Throughout society, there is a certain structure with rules that have been placed in the system to run efficiently. These rules range from official laws to social stigmas which are the underlying factors of getting ahead in life. These rules are needed, but those who are able to apply the rules in the best manner are the ones who are able to succeed and the game called life the best. When I immigrated to the United States I was already six years of and I had learned many of the rules of the Colombian civil society, both from observations and from my elders. Then when I came to the United States I had to learn these new rules and apply them to the best of my abilities.
In Colombia, many things operate differently from the United States. There is a different culture and different laws. As a young girl who had learned the basic rules of society in one country, it was challenging learning these different rules in the United States. The rules which I had to best learn and apply were those in the educational system.
…show more content…
My mom was not fully aware of the certain social rules which were essential for higher education. In middle school, my mom did not understand the value of volunteer work. I had to learn from observations that volunteer work was essential for applying into high school. I was able to volunteer throughout middle school. This simple rule which I learned helped me achieve a great milestone of getting accepted into one of the best high schools in the state of Kentucky. Not only was I able to learn the importance of volunteer work but I was also able to apply this knowledge to be able to go to DuPont Manual High
I remember the first time I came to America; I was 10 years old. Everything was exciting! From getting into an airplane, to viewing magnificent, huge buildings from a bird’s eye view in the plane. It was truly memorable. After staying few days at my mother’s house, my father and I wanted to see what Dallas looks like. But because my mother was working the whole day, it wasn’t convenient for her to show us the area except only on Sundays. Finally, we went out to the nearby mall with my mother. My father and I were astonished after looking at a variety of stores. But after looking at different stores, we were finally tired and hungry, so we went into McDonald’s. Not being familiar with fast food restaurants, we were curious to try American
When the country of Colombia is mentioned, chances are individuals automatically start composing images of famous actors and musicians that have rooted from Colombia such as Shakira and Sofia Vergara, the excellent reputation Colombian coffee has made across the globe, or even the beautiful Emeralds that surround the astonishing land. Of course all of those things matter, but Colombia is a country that is definitely swept under the rug and under appreciated. Colombia’s history, independence movements, governmental structure, and culture are just a few of the topics that make Colombia so unique.
Most public school in Colombia are underfunded and have very few resources. According to the CIA Fact book education expenditures equal to 4.4% of the GDP. School life expectancy is 13 years and the unemployment rate for your ages between 15- 24 is 21.9 %. These numbers are in direct correlation with the terrorism conflict. The state has to concentrate its spending on military expenditures. This conflict also caused Colombia to become the country with the highest number of Internally Displaced Population. Official, there are 4,175,000 internally displaced people that lost their farms or homes due to the conflict in the rural areas. These people do not receive any assistance and went from being farmers and having a source of income to absolutely nothing. Most move into large cities and live in slumps. President Santos realizes the importance of education assured that “If we want to be free of poverty, if we want to combat it and if we wish to be the most socially unequal continent in the word, worse than Africa, education has to be our primary tool”. Santos believes that this has to be an “American movement. All of the Latin American states have to join together and make education a fundamental objective by creating a regional education
I cannot even begin to explain how it varies between how my mom and her seven siblings were all taught and raised. My older sister Tasha was usually the reason most of the rules I have today, were put in place. She was kind of a rebel child. Brittany followed in her footsteps. I threw my parents for a loop when I graduated not only from Utica High School, but from Career Technical Education Center of Licking County with honors and passing my registry exam becoming a Registered Medical Assistant. I really surprised them when I decided to go to college. I was their first child to attend college. My mother was extremely proud of me and even cried because she was so blessed to be able to afford to send me through college. Growing up, my mother was not given the opportunity to go to college due to financial
Halfway through my sophomore year, my mom ran into some financial troubles. We had no choice, but to move away from my high school, and move in with my grandparents. After we moved, she didn’t have a job for over a year. I really didn’t want to switch schools. I was comfortable at my school and with my friends. My mother was willing to let me continue going there, even after we moved. I drove 30 minutes, everyday so I could go to school. It wasn’t easy, but it’s been worth it. I had to get up even earlier, I
Where I am from, coming to America is an unachievable dream for most people; however, that dream became attainable to me one summer. When my father told my family and me that we were moving to America, I was very excited and I thought about a lot of things. I thought about all of the opportunities there were in the U.S. and how rich everyone must be. I also thought that everyone in the U.S. lived in big houses, and every school had a swimming pool. Most of what I conceived about America came from watching television, and a month later I would find out how wrong I was.
Being in a school that brought students from various counties and cities with different backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives, opened my eyes to seeing just how diverse humanity is. In a time when everyone is struggling with personal problems, I know how monumental a simple volunteer act can be. One of my favorite acts of service is tutoring. I tutored an elementary-aged girl for two years in Fort Lee and I will always remember those two years as the most fulfilling. Education is so precious, and children are the most open to it. Not only was I able to teach her math and reading comprehension skills, but how to carry herself as a smart and extraordinarily capable young lady. In return, she taught me patience and how sometimes you just need to approach a problem differently to see the
My ancestors moved from Canada to America, they started living in the northern areas and worked very hard to earn food. When I was small the life was very good, all the kids of the community used to play and enjoy the time, but as I started growing up I realized that life is not just about playing around. Most of the people in my community do not know the actual meaning of life and they have spent their whole life inside a specific area and with limited knowledge. I started to find opportunities to study and learn more things that no one knows. In my quest for knowledge and curiosity to know the unknown I learned many things.
What if you met the love of your life today? You should smile, because you’ve never been loved so much in your life. But what if they back stabbed you…
When I was assigned to write a paper about a moment, event, or even person, in my life that altered its course forever, ideas started to instantly pop into my head. The divorce of my parents, graduating high school, moving away and going to college; the choices were abundant. However, after giving it some further thought I realized that all of these other impactful moments in my life were in some way connected to, and to a certain extent even caused by, when I moved to America from Guatemala.
I never once in my life sat down with myself and really thought about what my parents had to go through and all the sacrifices they had to make in order to ensure that I have a better life and a brighter future. Thinking back now, the frustration I feel eats away at me constantly that I was not more thankful and did not do more to help. This is most definitely a lesson that is learned better late than never. Going forward now I have three main focuses for when I enter college, the first is undoubtedly God and my spiritual life, which forced me to have this revelation. The second focus has to be my family, which I appreciate and value more than ever now.
Many of my goals have been met through my hard work and dedication through my mother's constant pressure to do well in school. To give a clear example of what I mean, there was the time that I got Principal's Honor Roll. In order to get Principal’s Honor Roll I had to work very hard and maintain a G.P.A of 4.0 or above with no U’s or fails. Many times, I had to sacrifice going to parties, hanging out with friends to do my homework just to study for a test. Many times, I had to stay up very late to finish an assignment or study. My hard work allowed me to meet my goal of getting Honor Roll. If I didn’t work hard and dedicated myself into pursuing to get Principal’s Honor Roll I would have probably never got it. This has impacted me in a very positive way because I know that in order to obtain what I want I have to work hard, dedicate myself, and commit myself to that goal. My grades are another great example of my hard work and dedication. If I didn’t work hard to obtain all A’s , I would have probably never have got a 4.0 G.P.A. in my report card and would not get the Principal’s Honor Roll award. My dedication to succeed in life has made me into the person that I am
My heart was pounding as I boarded my flight leaving the Bangkok International Airport. A flight attendant in a grey dress with a red bow draped over her shoulder announced; “Welcome aboard flight AA350 to the United States.” My journey began that day.
My journey as a student has always been focused on the path to college and success. Before I even set foot in kindergarten my mother, a college dropout, always told me that “honor roll wasn’t an option” and that I would be attending college in the future and achieving a degree. Most of the time I made these requirements. Most of the time I was awarded honor roll or had a newly edited list of colleges to attend, but sometimes life got in the way of my dreams of achieving success.
I could not think of a better example or provide for me than my mother. She was on the right track for the rest of her life because she got into college when she was only 17 years old. When she tells me about those kinds of stories, they always consists of being the youngest kid in the class who everybody else thinks should still be in high school.