Early Struggles

            Imagine you're on a broken roller coaster, you're yelling for help, nobody is able to help you, and the ride seems like it'll never stop. That's how my life felt while growing up. It was as if life was just slipping away from me way too fast. Although I struggled academically and socially on the first ten years of my life, I have learned a lot from living in California, Mexico, and Arizona.

            Being born to a Hispanic family in California meant that I had to learn both English and Spanish. I had to learn English to be able to communicate in school, and Spanish to communicate at home with my parents. The problem was, my parents did not speak or understand any English. By the time I started school, in California, all I knew was Spanish. I felt out of place in school. I couldn't understand my teacher, which made it unable for me to participate in class. The language barrier my teacher and I had made it quite difficult for me to pay attention in class. But at the age of six, who cares if your teacher can't understand you, I wasn't making any friends; and it seemed that I wasn't about to any time soon. I remember one day in class I really had to go to the bathroom. So I waited. I didn't know how to ask my teacher in English that I needed to go. The outcome: ended up with my pants wet, and no friends; especially not after that incident. For as horrible and embarrassing as that sounds, it's not a big deal to me anymore. What mainly used to shock me was the decision I was forced to make in Mexico; the one that changed a lot of who I was and am to this day.

            I moved to Mexico before I finished first grade in California; I was six years old. I ended up repeating first grade since I hadn't completed it. I was about to turn seven while everyone else was turning six. Even though then I was at a place where I could understand, and be understood, I still felt a distance from the other kids. Having arrived from the U.S. gave my classmates a feeling that I thought I was better than them; everyone kept their distance from me. By the third day, I had made a friend, and we started doing everything together. A week later, the principal of the school calls me over to the office and tells me that I'm supposed to be a second grader; if I wanted to switch grades. At this point, no, I didn't want to switch. I had finally, for the first time, made a friend. So I decided to stay in first grade; not realizing that for the rest of my schooling I would always be a year older than all of my classmates. But then again, who makes a child decide her future at such a young age for themselves?

            I moved to Arizona when I was ten years old. I was about to start fifth grade, and again, I still didn't speak or understand English. This time around, I was less timid and I told myself that the same mistake would not happen twice. I made my dad talk to the principal and have them get a bilingual teacher for me, someone who would be able to help me understand what would be taught, and also so that I would start learning English as quickly as possible. By the time I graduated middle school, I was more confident with the English language, even though I still wasn't fluent on it completely. My grades had improved dramatically, and I had been able to socialize more and meet new people. When I started high school, I was put into ESL classes; they teach at a slower pace for students learning English as their second language. Even though I started at a lower rank, one might say, than everyone else, I managed to eventually get out of those ESL classes and graduate high school in time. But that was not all. I graduated on the top seven percent of my class with honors and a scholarship to college.

            You can imagine how scary and irritating life can be for a kid moving from place to place, from school to school, and trying to make new friends. But if life has taught me anything, it's that even though we might struggle, a lot more than others, if we put ourselves up to it we can accomplish anything we set ourselves up for.