Kerjan Astudillo

October 9, 2015
UWRT 1103
I am a Kerjan Astudillo and I am a person who cares about many things in life. I have many
interests, from sports to video games to camping. I come from two Ecuadorian parents and was
born in New York. I recall many memories in New York, as that was the place I grew up in with
my family. There is a picture that I have about me with my sister in the front of out apartment
building and we were acting silly and enjoying the moment. That was a time where I had no
worries or a care for the world. I just wanted to have fun and be with my family. I dont
remember the exact moment of the photo, but I do remember the fun times I had in front of the
building and always being with my sister. We were inseparable. Anything I would do she would
be right there with me, and vice versa. The photo is a perfect representation of the relationship
that I had with my sister. We would always be having fun, so long as we were together. The tree
in my picture would always have berries by the summer, and we would always enjoy the berries
when we would head out to do something. I was curious back then, interested with the world and
always asking why. However, my top priority that I had was to smile every day, to enjoy the
moment and have fun. The picture brings back many memories from that building, as it was my
first home, and I had done many things living there.
When the prompt had told me to start getting rid of my values, it would take me a while to
decide on which one I wanted to keep. I had to think really deeply on my choices and I would
make scenarios in my head, thinking about if I had to choose one, which one would represent me
more. The prompt then kept on telling me to keep on going and I would drop my values one by

one. My last two were friendships and having a family and in the end I had gone with having a
family. It was the one in which I felt that without it I would be lost. I can always make new
friends but my family has been with me since the start. They have showed me the world and have
been the greatest source of help and love in my life.
I have met many people, been to many places, have seen many types of events. All which
would in turn affect me and make me who I am today. I have my close family which are, my
mom, dad and sister, who have all been with me all my life. I am always with one of them and
the moments I have spent with them have taught me the values that I have today. I also love the
family that I have grown up with. Cousins, aunts, uncles and anyone else have also brought me
joy. There have been my friends, people I knew in New York and people that have gotten to
know me here. It has always been so fun to have people who understand me and share similar
interests to me. These people have always been able to make me smile and bring out my craziest
side. My friends were the ones who had convinced me to join the swim team, something I would
have never dreamed of. It was such an accomplishment getting through the season, and I had
learned so much from it. It was something new, as I had never been in something that was so
competitive. It was an event that I will remember for the rest of my life.
I have heard many different things about me from all sorts of people. Some which contradict
what others think. Something I am always told is how kind I am, something that I always take
pride in. I am always so happy when told that I am a good person, and that pushes me to do more
good deeds. I think it all originated from my parents, who have always taught me to be nice to
everyone I meet, regardless of any differences that I may have from them. My sister may have
been someone who had helped develop this as well, because ever since we were young, I was
always the one to be there whenever she needed help with anything at all, from homework to

help hiding something she had broken, I would always help. I even remember trying my best to
not get my parents to scold her whenever she did something wrong. She isnt the only person to
affect me in such a way. My dad has always taken our family to different places, getting me to
experience all sorts of things in life. I would always want to go to the tallest rollercoaster, or go
upstream a river and see what sorts of animals I would find. I have almost no fears in my life and
it is because of all the times I have spent exploring or trying.
On the VIA Character Strengths Survey, what was said to me my strongest trait was my
ability to forgive and be merciful. Looking back, I would never be angry with a person for long
and it pretty much impossible to get me to hate someone. I dont remember the last time I held a
grudge or gotten offended over something. If anyone were to do me wrong, all it takes is a
sincere apology and I will accept it. I no longer get angry at a person for teasing me or be rude to
me. I simply ignore them, and go along with my day. There is only one person who has made me
angry more than anyone in my life, and that would be my sister. It seems that we are almost
always guaranteed to fight once a week over tedious things. However, not even three or four
hours later, we go on like nothing had ever caused us to fight and go back to our usual fun. If a
friend were to prank me, I would always prank back to the same extent that they had gone with
me. If they were to cross the line between friendly prank and rude games and does something
that may hurt me, I would not try to get back at them, and would just simply wait for an apology.
It is who I am for as long as I remember, as I live by forgiving and forgetting. This is why I
cannot remember a specific story where someone has done me wrong, because eventually I
would forgive them, and eventually I would forget would had happened.
I believe that everyone has to face the consequences of the choices they have made. If
something bad were to happen and it is their own fault, then they should own up to it and deal

with the repercussions. By doing this, they will be ready to earn a second chance to atone for
their actions. I also believe that everyone should try their best to get to love the people around
you. To do a good deed out of the kindness of ones heart and not for some selfish motive.
Everyone also deserves a chance on having a helping hand every once in a while. There have
been many times where I was stuck on something and no matter how hard I would try, I couldnt
get out of it. If it were not for the help of someone, I wouldnt have been able to overcome the
many obstacles that I have encountered in my life. I could rely on family and friends to help get
pass certain times in where I would be in trouble. In any situation where things seemed like too
big of a challenge for me, then I would always look for help, knowing that someone would be
able to get me out of the dilemma. From teachers who would help me with my classwork, to my
family who have been there with me every step of my life. It is hard to imagine a life in which I
would have to do everything myself. As people there is a lot that we can take, but we can do so
much more with the support of other people.
Looking back at everything that I have written down, I can see what type of person I am, and
who I have to thank for getting me to become this way. It seemed that who I am has been
because of events and people I have met from long ago. I was surprised to find that I am such a
forgiving person, as I have never given much thought to it. Now that I have written about this, I
can understand how the survey came to such a conclusion. My family seems to be the ones that
have affected me the most, so I have them to thank for showing me everything I have learned.
When I look back at this paper, I can see me, but I also now see them, as without them, I am
missing pieces of my being. I see now that I am someone who can be proud of themselves. I can
be happy for the person that I have become, and I can appreciate now where I have come from.

While I was writing, I would have my writing notebook that I would use in class to help me
write my sentences. It was useful to have the necessary information already jotted down and
ready to go. All that I needed to do was organize these thoughts and add any necessary details to
the writing. When I was working on this essay, there were somethings that I did not need to add
to the essay as I felt that I would have enough information, so I didnt include those sentences.
What would have been a difficult and time consuming assignment went well all because of what
I had prepared. It was surprising how easy it was to do this just because I had gotten most of the
information down. A question I would like to ask for my work is what are some things I can do
to improve my writing?
Some of the changes I had made were corrections to the wording and things that felt off when
I was reading it to my classmates. When showing my draft and reading it out loud, I had noticed
several things that were off, or that some sections needed more information while others didnt
need some parts. II had not revived any issues from my group members, and felt that their
responses were adequate in showing me what I could do. There were questions asked that made
me go back and change somethings in order to not leave any answered questions.

Three Step Response

Writer: Kerjan
Reader: Mateo
1. Velcro Words and Phrases
Ecuadorian. New York. Berries. Forgiveness. Merciful.

2. Feelings
Curious. Interested. Surprised. Calm.

3. Questions
What other beliefs do you have?

Three Step Response

Kerjan Astudillo

1. Velcro Words and Phrases

I came from two Ecuadorian parents and I was born in New York.
We were inseparable.
I live by forgiving and forgetting.

2. Feelings
Happiness
Optimism
Awed

3. Questions
If you believe in consequences do you believe in second chances?
Do you knowingly forgive people or is it just natural?