Undergraduate / "the opposite of perfection" - the world you come from has shaped your dreams [2]

The world I come from can be described as the opposite of perfection. I do not come from your typical "Mexican family", where the dad goes to work and his wife stays home to do the chores. No, in my case my mother had to take on the responsibilities of the father due to his absence. It has impacted my world in a way where everyone in my household has to work twice as hard for everything. I know that if you do not work hard in these circumstances Then you can be easily taken down with the hard times. Well, that is the path that my older brother took. All these seventeen years of my life without a father made me see my brother as the father that I never had. I saw him that way because when you are a little girl you want a "father figure" to take care of you, to buy you things, and to look up to. My brother did exactly that. When my mother was away at work, which was practically all day long, he was there to take care of me, feed me, and he taught me what was right from wrong.

As you grow older you realize that life is not all rainbows and butterflies. Once reality unfolded my eyes I started to see my brother for who he truly was, an alcoholic. I saw alcoholism take over his life as he would drink until he would pass out. Sometimes I feel sorry for him because he still has to live under my mothers roof simply because he can not keep a simple job. He has lost all of his jobs because he was incapable of waking up after a long night of drinking. My eyes will water with tears those mornings that I would wake up and see the beer cans spread over the floor. Alcoholism has infuriated him and it has become extremely hard for me to respect him now. He yells with anger and it hurts to realize that I have lost him, not physically but emotionally.

Although, I do thank him, not for his actions but for helping me realize that my life can be better. His behavior has pushed me to go to school every day just so I would not have to be around his negativity. He has made me thrive for better grades so they can get me into a university, away from him. This experience has made me love my education and therefore I want to further it after high school.

The world I come from has shaped my dreams and aspirations by providing me the confidence that I know I can be better. I know growing up in a home with alcoholism can bring many hard times, but I have learned to make the best of it by succeeding on my own. The hard times in my family have not and will never stop me from accomplishing my goals. As my mom always told me, "Todo es possible, so nunca te des por vencida" Spanish for "Everything is possible, so never give up".

Book Reports / Caroline Bird's essay, "College In America" - essay about some readings in college [2]

In my English class we had to write an essay about some readings we were doing on college. This paper determines a huge part on my grade. Feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thank you :]

In Caroline Bird's essay, "College In America", she states the many reasons to why college is not the best choice for everyone. One reason Bird thinks that, is because most college graduates do not end up working in the same field as the major they studied. She believes that college is a waste of time and money. Students waste thousands of dollars for a college education, just to end up with their degree in their hand and with no job relating to it. I agree with Bird because she thinks that college education may not be the best choice for all high school graduates.

One of the reasons why I agree with Bird is because some students are just not meant for the rigorous college work. Although, some high school students take more than one Advanced Placement course, does not necessarily mean they are ready for college work. For example, my friend Jessica took two Advanced Placement courses for two consecutive years. Sure, you would then think she is a college bound student. When in fact, all she did was be on the teachers good side in order to receive a passing grade. Her presence just somehow seemed to be enough. Those passing grades got her an acceptance to University of California, Santa Barbara. Little did she know that her slacking off was actually going to catch up to her. Now she struggles to pass her college courses. She finds them with great difficulty because it is something that she is not accustomed to. Somehow, the only reason why she stayed at UCSB was not for the educational challenge, but because she expects to earn a high income after she graduates. Therefore, college is not for everyone, maybe not even for those high school students who took Advanced Placement courses. In this case, Bird would say that Jessica is wasting her time and money, and indeed should be spent on something else. Bird says "If money is the only goal, college is the dumbest investment one can make" (206).

No matter what dreams and aspirations high school students may have, they think that college is where they must go. Bird thinks that students feel obligated to attend college: "And adults- parents, employers, high-school counselors- began to push, shove and cajole youngsters to get an education" (206). These adults have pushed students to get a higher education by drilling the thought of college into their head. For example, my high school counselor did not really respect those students who were not college bound. He seemed to be nice, but only to those interested in a higher education. Literally, my counselor would tell other students "If you do not attend college, then you are practically worthless". Hence, making them think they should go to college, just so they will not be worthless. Furthermore, this is the cause of why there are more students entering college, when in reality they should not be there. Not because they are unintelligent but because that is not their path.

I also agree with Bird when she says "It violates the fundamental principle of respect for the differences between people" (206). Society just assumes that everyone is a fit for college, not knowing that it only comes naturally to a few. Some students do well in college while others might do better without it. For example, my uncle created a business and he successfully runs it. He did not attend college or receive any form of degree. Whereas, my aunt went to college, graduated and received a degree in Sociology. To this day she has not found a job that has to do with what she has learned. Society thinks that they can compare everyone equally based on their education. When in reality, you can be successful without a higher education. So then high school graduates cannot be compared to every single one of their classmates because they are all different, personally and academically.

In conclusion, Bird's argument written in 1976, still applies to high school graduates in this twenty first century. Students still seem to compete against classmates to be the highest in their society. I agree with Bird when she thinks that a college education may not be the best choice for all high school graduates because everyone is born and raised different. Everyone has their own special qualities that make them unique. They should take their qualities and embrace them to help them reach their goals and ambitions, whether it is a college path, or not.