arx1192
Jan 7, 2011
Undergraduate / "Growing up in a Hispanic household" - career path [3]
There comes a time in our life that we have to choose a path for our careers, for some adolescents it comes easy, for others like me it became a challenge. However, there have been events through out my life that have helped me with my decision in wanting to become a speech language pathologist. As a child, I personally had to go to speech therapy sessions in order to speak correctly in school. Also, my nephew was born with a growth deficiency making it hard for him to speak; inspiring me to always help him. He also received help from by Cousin Kim, who is a speech language pathologist. Things in life happen for a reason, and I believe this because it helped me choose a path that will allow me to exceed in life.
Growing up in a Hispanic household, I was forced to learn two languages at once. Spanish being my first language made things complicated when I was in school, instead of speaking English or Spanish, I spoke "Spanglish". My teachers suggested to my parents that I take a speech class; which I did. I got made fun of as a child, because I interrupted every class and had to go to a speech teacher. Not knowing this at the time, it was a benefit having to go to these classes. I became better at speaking, reading, and listening to two different languages, at a very young age. Eventually, after about a year I could finally identify the difference between English and Spanish. Looking back at this, I see what a great career my teacher had, helping young kids who had trouble with languages, and being able to change their lives.
My nephew Christopher, on the other hand didn't have it as easy as I did. He is only a year younger than me, making him 17 in March, and unfortunately was born with a growth deficiency. Christopher is shorter than most teenagers his age, walks slower, and has trouble speaking. He is also, very smart, loving, and is an optimistic boy. Christopher inspired me most through out my life in wanting to become a speech language pathologist. I grew up being surrounded by cousins younger than me, and I realized that I was very good with children, it came easy to me. With Christopher, it was slightly different; it was more of a challenge for him to get along with our cousins. When I was old enough to realize this, I wanted to help him feel normal and fit in with everyone else. This started to motivate me into spending more time with him, so I could start understanding him better. By doing this I was able to help him communicate better with the rest of our cousins. He eventually, started to feel more comfortable by becoming outgoing and playing with the rest of the kids.
My cousin Kim is a speech language pathologist, who is employed by an elementary school in Brooklyn. She also has three children who I babysit three times a week over the summer, while she is at work. I started to become very close with Kim, once I started to babysit her children. She realized I was very good with kids, and started to tell me about her career. Kim told me about the children she works with, how much school she had to attend, to her everyday routine as a speech language pathologist. I instantly knew that, that was what I was looking for. Every time I would babysit, I would try and teach her youngest child at the age of 2, a new word. I know that actually being a speech pathologist would be more complicated than that, but it is a start.
In conclusion, everyone has a reason as to why they choose their careers, and I had a few. I grew up being the girl who didn't know how to speak correctly, and having to go to speech classes. My nephew was born with a growth deficiency making him unable to be understood, inspiring me to want to change that. Also, my cousin Kim is a speech language pathologist, being able to see and hear about the career I would enjoy having in the near future.
There comes a time in our life that we have to choose a path for our careers, for some adolescents it comes easy, for others like me it became a challenge. However, there have been events through out my life that have helped me with my decision in wanting to become a speech language pathologist. As a child, I personally had to go to speech therapy sessions in order to speak correctly in school. Also, my nephew was born with a growth deficiency making it hard for him to speak; inspiring me to always help him. He also received help from by Cousin Kim, who is a speech language pathologist. Things in life happen for a reason, and I believe this because it helped me choose a path that will allow me to exceed in life.
Growing up in a Hispanic household, I was forced to learn two languages at once. Spanish being my first language made things complicated when I was in school, instead of speaking English or Spanish, I spoke "Spanglish". My teachers suggested to my parents that I take a speech class; which I did. I got made fun of as a child, because I interrupted every class and had to go to a speech teacher. Not knowing this at the time, it was a benefit having to go to these classes. I became better at speaking, reading, and listening to two different languages, at a very young age. Eventually, after about a year I could finally identify the difference between English and Spanish. Looking back at this, I see what a great career my teacher had, helping young kids who had trouble with languages, and being able to change their lives.
My nephew Christopher, on the other hand didn't have it as easy as I did. He is only a year younger than me, making him 17 in March, and unfortunately was born with a growth deficiency. Christopher is shorter than most teenagers his age, walks slower, and has trouble speaking. He is also, very smart, loving, and is an optimistic boy. Christopher inspired me most through out my life in wanting to become a speech language pathologist. I grew up being surrounded by cousins younger than me, and I realized that I was very good with children, it came easy to me. With Christopher, it was slightly different; it was more of a challenge for him to get along with our cousins. When I was old enough to realize this, I wanted to help him feel normal and fit in with everyone else. This started to motivate me into spending more time with him, so I could start understanding him better. By doing this I was able to help him communicate better with the rest of our cousins. He eventually, started to feel more comfortable by becoming outgoing and playing with the rest of the kids.
My cousin Kim is a speech language pathologist, who is employed by an elementary school in Brooklyn. She also has three children who I babysit three times a week over the summer, while she is at work. I started to become very close with Kim, once I started to babysit her children. She realized I was very good with kids, and started to tell me about her career. Kim told me about the children she works with, how much school she had to attend, to her everyday routine as a speech language pathologist. I instantly knew that, that was what I was looking for. Every time I would babysit, I would try and teach her youngest child at the age of 2, a new word. I know that actually being a speech pathologist would be more complicated than that, but it is a start.
In conclusion, everyone has a reason as to why they choose their careers, and I had a few. I grew up being the girl who didn't know how to speak correctly, and having to go to speech classes. My nephew was born with a growth deficiency making him unable to be understood, inspiring me to want to change that. Also, my cousin Kim is a speech language pathologist, being able to see and hear about the career I would enjoy having in the near future.