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Welcome to my journal, if you really want to know me, and I mean REALLY want to know me, then read on at your discretion. The following is my autobiography, feel free to leave comments and remember that negative comments will of course be ignored, praise will be thanked, and constructive criticisms will also be thanked for. I will begin from the beginning...
I was born in the heartland that is Mexico City, Mexico on April 20th 1991. I was raised in a two room bungalow built-in into my grandmother's courtyard. I lived in that small home with my parents, brother, and sister. I lived a simple life filled with Mexican culture and festivities. I was used to celebrating and observing all Mexican holidays. In elementary school, the norm was to sing the Mexican National Anthem each day before classes. In the 16th of September, we celebrated Mexico's independence day and on that day each year, the sky lit up with fireworks. There were no bans on any kind of firework and so we could purchase dangerously explosive and flying fireworks. I loved my life in Mexico and I wanted it to last forever. There I lived for my early childhood until the year of 1999 that is. On that year, my family was struggling to make ends meet and so my father migrated up north, to Colorado, to find a job and send money back to us in Mexico. Our struggles with money were becoming more and more evident as my family sank into poverty. At one point during that year, my father garnered enough money to allow us to enter the country that is the U.S. In a bus with false documents, my family and I entered the country and began a new life in Colorado. For me it was the longest of journeys and the most perilous for if we were discovered, we may have been jailed. It was also the scariest of moments for I was separated from my mother because she hired a “coyote” to smuggle me across the border. Even when we were finally reunited, I felt lost for we were in America, a foreign land. As we rode on the bus towards our new home, we felt the culture shock overwhelm us. I was quickly enrolled in third grade, but I just couldn't understand what my teacher was saying so I was entered into ESL classes. Here in Colorado, in the third grade, I was forced to assimilate into a new culture; I was pushed into an unfamiliar land with a language I could not understand. I made friends with other children with migrant parents and similar backgrounds. We made a tightly knit group so we would not feel fear in a culture that was very much unlike our own. We were of course ridiculed for our differences but we had the strength in numbers so we were never bullied. However, I quickly learned English through my own efforts and the support of my bilingual teachers. I departed from the group which only now do I understand only held me back from assimilation. I was very grateful that I had teachers who would take an interest in helping me when nobody else did that I continued to respect all teachers thereafter. Realizing that assimilation was a tremendous feat for someone like me, I knew I could do anything I put my mind to. In middle school I openly showed my drive to learn and piqued the interest of the teachers there by being as best a model student I could be. In my middle school years I took a heavy interest in academics and challenged myself even when classes became too easy for me. I was introduced to advanced courses in most subjects I took. I also took an interest towards artistic fields such as art and poetry; I excelled in many of the classes I entered. I gained the trust and respect from teachers that I deserved. I also began volunteering my time to help children in the summers and help anyone who needed my help. All the while, I ignored those who would label me with useless labels and prevented them from stopping my progress. They quickly abandoned their efforts to annoy me seeing that they were futile. My years in middle school only nurtured the determination and thirst for knowledge that I developed early in my time in the U.S. In middle school, I learned that my strengths were mainly with math and English. I left middle school and was ready for all challenges high school had to offer. Upon entering high school, I came ready to prepare for my future. By this point, I understood the position I was in as an undocumented student. I knew that there was a long and difficult road ahead of me but I was still determined to succeed. I figured that I would have a bigger chance to go into college if I had excellent grades. Even if there was the slimmest chance that I could go to college, I was determined to take it. Again, I continued to succeed and even earned an academic letter for my achievements. The teachers at Jefferson High School were intrigued and recommended me for honors and AP courses. Even in the AP courses, my teachers were amazed at my punctuality and the quality of my work. I also joined Key Club International and performed several community service acts that would later help me gain valuable scholarships. My years in high school filled me with knowledge in many fields. I even took on a third language, French, which I took for all four years of high school and have now become quite fluent at. I read an immense amount of literature both classic and contemporary which helped me to write better. In my senior year, looking to my future, I had to look at my past to determine what course of action would be a better choice for me. I decided that I will become a teacher and share my knowledge with the open minds of children and to make them understand the importance of an education. I want to make other students feel like I did, to feel that they could do anything no matter what anyone else says and no matter what measly documents they may lack. A few weeks before graduation, I was told that I will be Salutatorian and will give a speech to my fellow classmates. I was humbled and readily wrote my speech and presented it to my English teacher. She corrected a few of my mistakes and after correcting those mistakes I promptly returned it to her and she said it was beautiful. With the newfound confidence that I had gained with years of academic success, I delivered my speech at the graduation ceremony to the best of my ability. As I concluded my speech, I was met with tumultuous applause and cheers from the audience. I looked up at the balcony where my parents sat and saw the pride and joy I had brought to them. After the ceremony, faculty and staff incessantly praised me and thanked me for the speech. Although it was meant to be a jocund celebration, I could not help but feel sad for it was a goodbye to many wonderful teachers and friends. As I held my diploma in my hands, I knew this was not the end, college awaited for me in the Fall. Though it was difficult to find scholarships, it was even more difficult for me personally because they were few scholarships I had the requirements for. Nevertheless, I found some scholarships with the help of my great counselors at my high school. Presently, I have applied and been accepted to the Metropolitan State College of Denver. I am also awaiting news from the scholarships I have applied to. Looking back on my life, I feel proud that I have accomplished significant feats in my youth. However, now it is time to make my ideal future a reality because nobody can foretell their future unless they are determined to make their goals, dreams, and aspirations a reality. My plan was to become a teacher, an English teacher and to teach to kids something that will stay with them for their lifetime. I aspire to, when old and gray, look back and reflect on my life and feel that I had a good life, that I was glad with the choices I made, and that my life was rich with experiences that would satisfy me enough to depart the world in peace.
 Deluxe SORA · Tue Aug 25, 2009 @ 02:40am · 2 Comments |
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