I would appreciate any comments, concerns, or any suggestions of how to improve this essay. Thank you.
USC's speaker series "What Matters to Me and Why" asks faculty and staff to reflect on their values, beliefs, and motivations. Presenters talk about choices they have made, difficulties encountered, and commitments solidified. Write an essay about an event or experience that helped you learn what is important to you and why it is important.
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Helen Keller once said, "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it."
For me, preschool to 5th grade has been the most difficult school years that I have ever endured in my entire life. Why? Reading and writing is considered to be the most esoteric subjects to certain children; however I was not part of this statistic. Immigrating to the United States can take its toll on new students, especially their parents. Even though I was only one year old, I should have been able to master the English language as I got older. Wrong. Unfortunately, my parents could not speak one word of English; instead their fluent conversation in Korean began to sink into me. Instead of learning English, I chose to master the Korean language. Although memories of my younger years appear to be bleak and forgotten, I did know for sure that I struggled during these years.
Attending ESL classes was embarrassing for me, because I could barely speak a word in English without stuttering or getting the pronunciations correct. However, this class was necessary for me. In this class, I tried reading and writing exercises to help improve my English skills. Time after time, my skills in reading and writing in English have improved. This slow momentum gave me the confidence to fully understand English, but most importantly, I have upgraded myself into my original class. But this was just the beginning.
At each grade level, we learn something new and depend our past teachings to help us achieve a good grade. But my mind was stuck in one particular state and could not improve myself to my teachers and my grades. As hard as I tried to understand the readings and the lectures, the curriculum was very cryptic. Teachers thought of me as an inept student due to my poor grades. It was a miracle that I kept passing each grade, even though I knew for sure I shouldn't. Child psychology will tell you that once a child is burdened with failing homework and tests, they try to compensate by "showing off" or "acting out". In my case, I "showed off" by being a troublemaker. My presumptuous attitudes towards education, teachers, and adults made me the bane of their existence. My parents knew what I was doing at school via parent-teacher conferences. Once we reached home, the fighting and the yelling began.
Children tend to get yelled and scolded at numerous times throughout their childhood, because parents believe that yelling is an effective tool for children to learn from their mistakes. In this case, this principle was the turning point of my life. After minutes of fighting of why I am not competent at school or why am I not trying my best, I finally conceded to my parents that I will do my best and to achieve graduating grade school. Amusing that scolding is a tool for greatness and achievement. From that moment on, I have worked hard and went to after-school tutoring for my studies. I have realized that every time I study hard, good grades will be given to you and they have. I received numerous awards from my school for academic achievements and won the respect of my teachers. I constantly kept studying and read books and this has helped me graduate from the 6th grade. Grade school made me realize that a working experience will help you achieve your goals. I have changed and matured as a student and have grown with ethics and morals.
Grades K-12 was just training me for what the future has in store for me, and this is just the beginning. College is going to be the ultimate test and how well I do is going to reflect upon my future. Throughout the rest of my life, I will continue to learn through my own experiences and what life has given me, and I will also offer my own unique perspective to the world around me.
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt
For me, Preschool to 5th grade has have been the most difficult school years for me. that I have ever endured in my entire life. Why? Reading and writing is are considered to be the most esoteric subjects to certain children; however I was not part of this statistic. Immigrating to the United States ...
I did know for sure that I struggled during these years.----- well your English is excellent now!
Switch this sentence to the past verb tense:
At each grade level, we learn something new and depend our past teachings to help us achieve a good grade. But my mind was stuck...
Children tend to get yelled and scolded at numerous times throughout their childhood, because parents believe that yelling is an effective tool for children to learn from their mistakes. In this case, this principle was the turning point of my life. After minutes of fighting of why I am ...--- the part I crossed out was too obvious and used too many words. Just start the paragraph with a sentence that tells what you mean: they criticized you for your grades. Then continue and explain: After minutes of ...
:-) Nice job! I feel proud of you for overcoming this challenge, even though I don't know you! I think the AO reader will feel inspired, because adults in education often contemplate the language barriers faced by students whose parents do not speak English... this is so good!
