Snapshot Shitty Draft

Read 180 At the time I did not understand why did the teacher asked for me to be put in that class. I did not even know her that well. It was the first day of class and I was very happy that it was my last year of middle school. I remember thinking to myself I am almost done with ninth grade and soon I will be in high school. Of course, then that meant that I was finally going to be a grownup. Anyways, I did not understand why my homeroom class was so small. It usually has about 40 students but this consisted of only 18 students. I asked Mrs.Cruz, our English teacher, why this year was different and she explained to everyone that this was a special class called Read 180. This class was created by her, and its purpose was to teach students the English language. At first I was confused because it is mandatory that we take an English class since we are in Elementary school, so it still did not explain why it was different. Mrs.Cruz kept explaining and she then said that the students in this class were chosen by other teachers, and were supposed to be the responsible and applied students, the students that take school seriously. The reason she said this was that even though taking an English class is mandatory ninety eight percent of the students do not take it seriously or are not interested in it. So she said that she wanted to make a difference and thats why she created this class which will hopefully be more successful than the other ones we have had had in the past.

The Read 180 class was not so bad, but the people that were chosen to be in it were. They were no different than the other ones, but the only thing that saved this special class was that Mrs.Cruz was so strict that students knew that had to actually work for their grades or they would fail the class and had to repeat it. We learned really basic stuff, just think of a high school Spanish class in a really basic level. I remember that I learned the colors, how to say time (sometimes, it was not my forte), and we would read a lot, even though I did not understand what I was saying but I would still do it. I was actually one of the few people that were actually enthusiastic ad interested in the class, the others just wanted to get it over with but I really did wanted to learn especially after I found out that my dad was thinking of making me move to the United States with him. I did not learn a lot in the class but I am thankful for what I did learn and I realized after I was already here in North Carolina that some stuff would be easier than others and I think that that Read 180 class was a base of a seed that was planted inside my brain so that when I would return to my English studies I would already have a basic knowledge and what to expect.

First day of high school and a nice girl When I think of high school I automatically think of the first day, which was a day full of embarrassment for me. I remember being in the car with my older brother, he was driving me to school. He noticed how nervous I was and he said Dont worry; everybodys nervous on the first day. I know that he was just trying to help me out and make me feel better but being honest it didnt make much difference. He dropped me off on the entrance of the school and just left me there, alone, by myself. I was surrounded by people I didnt know. They all looked, dressed and spoke different from the people I was used to. I finally went inside the school, after thinking how should I do it and what to expect over and over again. I was amazed of what I saw when I went inside. The school was no in open air like my old one. It had air conditioner, I could not believe it. It was clean and smelled really good. I was just so happy and thinking that it was the best thing that could ever happened to me, until I got pulled back to reality. After I went in I was just leaning back on a wall just waiting because I didn t know what to do. People would come up to me and would speak but all I would hear was blah blah blah. I was so scared and embarrassed. I didnt know if people were coming up to me because they saw the face I had, and how lost I was and they just wanted to help; or if they were just making fun of me or insulting me. I didnt know how to react so all I did was just nod. I kept nodding my head up and down pretending to understand but in reality I had no clue. They realized after a while that I was clueless because they would just leave.

There was a girl that saw me helped me out. She came up to me and started speaking to me, she was asking if I was feeling okay and what was wrong with me. I answered her without even realizing that she was speaking Spanish to me. It came so naturally, I was so happy to hear someone I could actually understand. She told me how I was not the only one going through and then we introduced each other. She said My name is Yesenia Ponce, whats your name?. After I told her my name she asked where I was from, I thought that it was so weird because I have never been asked that before. Where I am from everyone is from the same country. I told her I was from Puerto Rico and then she said she was from El Salvador. We talked for a long time and then she showed me around the school and told me everything I need to know. She showed me to my class and then we saw each other again during lunch. She sat with me and we talked and talked without ever imagining that we would become best friends later on. I always say that I do not know what I would have happened on my first day of high school if it wasnt for Yesenia. I probably would have been lost, and not know what to do because I did not even know how to ask for help.

Dictionary People would look at me weird, but I didnt really care. I knew the reason they did but I thought that it benefitted me more than anything else. I didnt really listen when they would tell me to put it away, my dictionary was critical in my life. It helped me so much. I would ALWAYS carry it around with me. It was a big bright orange dictionary; I am the one who chose it like that so I would never lose it. Every time I needed to translate something, I knew that it was going to be there for me. I didnt really trusted phones and the internet because I didnt always have signal and it wasnt very reliable at the time, but I knew that the dictionary would never fail me because it was there with me 24/7; it never left my side. Even when I would go out, to the mall for example, I would have it with me because what if I got lost or something? I couldnt risk it. I think that the worst feeling I have ever had, and it was more than once, was when I was in a place in which I didnt know anybody and I was just lost. Not physically lost but mentally lost. In my mind I didnt know what to do or what was going on, just like my first day of high school. It feels like people were plotting something against me. I would get very paranoid. I have seen so many movies in which a girl gets kidnapped and killed in a foreign country. I knew that it was not likely to happen but that was all I could think of. Having my dictionary helped me be in peace because the first words I learned were that kill means matar and kidnap means secuestrar. I had always liked to read horror books since I was little but when I came to live to North Carolina, my favorite book was the dictionary. I would read some of it every

day. After a while I didnt need it as much but I would still carry it with me just in case. Just like my mom always said, you can never be too careful.

ESL When I started school in Riverside High School the principal wanted to put me in ESL (English as a Second Language) classes. My dad was furious, he even wanted to change me to another school, he did everything he could to put me in regular classes and he did it. He would have never allowed me to be in an ESL class. I didnt understand why at the beginning. I was even mad at my dad because he didnt understand how hard it is to not understand a word of what a teacher is teaching me. Yesenia convinced me that it was the best but she didnt tell me why, the only thing she did say was, When you graduate from Riverside, compare your skills to the people that did take ESL classes. I had already forgotten of Yesenias words but now that I go back to it I realized something. My dad and she were right. I had so many Hispanic friends that were just like me. They did not know English when they started high school and most of them took ESL classes. Now I see that it was a mistake, because they started their freshman year and finished their senior year taking ESL classes. I honestly think that ESL classes dont really work because it just makes the student lazy. If you are taking a class in a foreign country but they are speaking your native language you are not going to put as much effort to learn that foreign language because you do not need it as much. My case was different, I had to learn English because I had no other choice. Either I learned English or I had the risk of failing my classes. I feel like that motivated me into putting more effort and be more interested in learning the language.

High School Years I took regular classes and I actually did very well in all of them. My GPA never got lower that a 4.0. I was impressed with myself. One of the classes that helped me the most was my English 2 class; actually not the class but the teacher, Ms.Phillis. She was so sweet and she was always worrying about her students wellness. She would have special meetings with me and would ask me how I was doing and if I needed help. She would even give me extra homework and I actually liked it. She gave me some tips to do better in school. Even though it was harder and double the work I did what she told me. Every time I had to do an essay I would write it in Spanish. Then I would translate it word for word without using the internet, just my dictionary and she would help me with my grammar. By the end of my English class I could write essays without having to do it in Spanish and then translate it, but I would sometimes do it just to be sure. I had the highest grade of the class and sometimes my classmates would ask me for help, which I thought was kind of ironic. After that, I was convinced that I could handle more, so I decided to take honor and AP (Advanced Placement) classes. My dad actually told me to wait for my second year so that I was better prepared but I told him I believed I could do it. I am glad I did because the harder the classes the more effort and time I had to put into my education. Sometimes people ask me how did I learn English in such a short period of time and I think I that could be a good answer. Motivation is not all you need, but it is a great component of it.

Family I am so grateful to have a family like the one I have. They are always there for me when I need them.