My family consists of my mother, my father, and my two sisters. My entire family is from Cali, Colombia. When I was six years old my parents decided to move to the U.S. At the time, I didn’t understand why we were leaving our house, family and friends. It wasn’t until I became a teenager that I began to understand the reasons behind their decision. One of the reasons why my parents decided to come to the U.S. was for a chance of having a better life. When I compare my homeland to the U.S. I always tell myself “you have it good here.” I feel safe in this country. Here, I can walk down my street wearing gold earrings and some name brand shoes and not fear for my life. Among other reasons, my parents also moved to make sure my …show more content…
I spent 3rd and 4th grade in Mamaroneck Avenue School before moving to another school district. My previous teacher, Ms. Formoso, decided that I no longer needed ESL. Third grade was my first year immersed in a monolingual classroom. I remember learning various things from my third grade teacher, Ms. Levine. I learned about the different stages of an essay. I also learned how to write cursive. Ms. Levine taught us how to write cursive by tracing each letter and then copying it. Once the alphabet was learned in cursive we started forming words and practicing writing letters in cursive. I spent a good part of my day practicing how to read and write in English. I learned how to write a book report. I also learned how to identify the main idea, setting, and the characters of a story. Fourth grade with Ms.Kaebnick, was a very rewarding year for me. I learned how to write poems and was even chosen to be a part of a gifted science program. The way I remember fourth grade is as a year of exploration and growth. Not only was I learning content area instruction with textbooks, but I was learning about other equally important things. Some of those activities included making a brochure, giving oral presentations, choosing books that were on my grade level, and learning how to check out books from a library. My education continued in Alice E. …show more content…
I had several offers from different private institutions, but I knew that I was going to be responsible for paying my own tuition. When I was 17 my parents were struggling to keep our home and pay off their credit card debt. I knew that FAFSA was not be of any help because my parents owned a house in White Plains, one of the most expensive areas in Westchester County. I enrolled at the City College of New York in the fall of 2013. Before my first semester began, I took a summer freshman workshop to prepare me for college. The workshop was an introduction to critical reading, writing, and research. In college, I learned how to revise and edit papers. I also learned how to cite any references using APA and MLA format. Most importantly, the several writing classes that I have taken have given me practice writing various different contents. I have taken several English classes that have helped me comprehend diverse genres. Classes such as English 230, has helped me become a better non-fiction