Arguelles 1
Brenda Arguelles
Dr.Hanvey
Stacc Tues/Thurs
10/12/14
Overcoming Obstacles
The struggles in one’s life can make or break a person by knocking them to their
moments of despair, or taking them to glorious achievements. As the years pass by, the
lessons learned have shaped and made my personality. Although, literacy has made my
struggles harder; yet I have confronted my falls and made the best out of my academic
standing. Growing up in elementary I always struggled with my reading, writing, and
math. Junior high was the worst; not only was there an academic struggle but also
identity, and bullying hardships. The transition to high school was a huge hardship;
luckily I made friends and within a few weeks everything turned out to be okay. I still
struggle through school, though I believe I have learned to work it out and try my best
through any situation.
Going back to Dweck’s essay, I can relate because I had a fixed mindset
throughout my elementary, middle school, and high school years. How can I not if,
everything seemed so easy for everyone else. I assumed they just had a gift, because
everything was a struggle for me. During freshmen year, my writing projects were a pain
in the neck just to look at. Luckily, I overcame it with the help of my teachers. Now, I
believe I can do better. Like Dweck states in his article, “growth mindset students care
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about learning, they correct it, effort is a positive thing” (par. 13). My teachers have
made me find hope for my education. When I would sit in class completely lost they
always tried helping me even if it took time for me to understand. Since I had that
support and they did not discourage me; I kept on trying even if I struggled. Therefore,
the quote applies to me thinking positive and not giving up.
Reading and writing especially reading were not my greatest; though not my
worst. Twos and threes on grades sums it up for elementary. Then, in high school I
luckily had the best English teachers in the school throughout my four years! I can relate
to Diary 31 in The Freedom Writers to a certain extent; not with books but with projects.
In diary 31 the student talks about the day Ms.G did the toast for change and gave them
new books. The student states, “so I guess I was offered an opportunity that not many
people have” (62) this is exactly how I felt with the teachers I had throughout my high
school years. The projects that we had to do, especially for Ms.Chavez, were so fun and
the more creative the more she loved it. Yes, all her projects included writing, reading
and even research, but she was always available for tutoring after school and during
lunch. There was really no excuse to fail her class. Getting good grades in her projects
was encouraging to me; it didn’t make me feel like I was unable to do something the
correct way. This was just how the students felt when Ms.G gave them new books to
read. She gave them the feeling of capability; she did not put them down.
I became really close to Ms.Chavez and even her ex-husband another teacher in
Bravo. He too impacted my life the most in an emotional way. They both really cared
about the students and never denied help to me when I asked for it. It is because of
them that I can say my writing and reading improved. Before Mr. Chavez passed away,
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the school journalism requested that those who wanted to write a comment for the
school newspaper in honor of Mr. Chavez was welcomed too. Of course being so close
to him I wrote a comment that said “Although you were never my teacher I learned a lot
from you as you were the one person I knew I could go to for help in school and in my
personal life. The last words you said to me really meant a lot to me, ‘I’m really proud of
you I knew you could do it, just remember high school is not the most important thing in
life, remember have fun and enjoy life.’ I thank you for being there for me and my family,
you will be missed Mr. Chavez.” I can truly say he was the “Ms.Gruwell” in my life. He
let me dream big and make me believe that graduating high school was not a possibility
but a fact instead.
A way Ms.Chavez impacted my literacy was by showing me that reading was not
boring or it did not have to mean writing boring essays. One of the books that impacted
me the most in Ms. Chavez’s class was, “A Veil Of Roses” by Laura Fitzgerald. For that
project we had the chance to choose our own book. It was my second time reading that
book. The first time was during my freshmen year in Mr.Ryden’s class for a book
project, also a free pick and that was the book I chose. It was about an Iranian girl going
to the states to find a husband. It is a very funny, cultural, and romantic novel. I loved it.
Doing projects on it was the best, I got to re-read the book to look for quotes- how fun! I
believe that book changed the way I thought about reading. It made me see that
projects did not have to always be bold; they had a meaning. It was about expressing
your feelings towards the author’s words. Every time I read the book it meant something
different; I learned that the reader views the words as they come depending on your
point in life. The words in the books stay the same though the meaning is different every
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time. When I realized this I was amazed with reading ever since. How odd that a book
can teach me something about myself. To me, it meant that I had grown from the
person I was and matured.
Finally, there is my transition to college. I am currently at Pasadena City College
(PCC) because of self-induced pressure. I want to try to recover from all the hard times
in the past with school. Although, it was fun to experience learning with many different
people and in many ways, it’s now time for change. My personality has changed so
much that I can say my way of thinking has gotten the best of it. I was a very silent and
shy person. I feel like now I can speak up most of the time. Just like in, College
Pressures by Zinsser I relate to self-induced pressure. I push myself to do many things
that I would have considered challenges before such as standing in front of a class.
Now, in college I am in clubs and I sign up for volunteer events. Before, I would have
not done such things because I was afraid to fall behind on classes that I was already
struggling with. I hope that being at PCC will help me brighten my school years in the
past. I must overcome the thoughts of not being the smartest and the memories of
never being the first person chosen in groups. I hope that in PCC I can break out of my
shell and be one of the first to be chosen for group projects instead of being selected
last. I want to move forward from being placed in lower level classes and put that in my
past. To what’s to come I am not sure, but one thing is I will not give up.
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Bibliography
Fitzgerald, Laura. Veil of Roses. New York, NY: Bantam, 2007. Print.
The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell. The Freedom Writer’s Diary. New York:
Broadway Books, 2009. Print.
Dweck, Carol. The Perils and Promises of Praise. 2007. Canvas.
Zinsser, William. College Pressures. Reading for Revolutionary Writing. Boston:
Bedford/St Martin’s, 2013. 393-400. Print.