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Jesse Medina
13 October, 2014
Dr. Hanvey
STACC English 100
Dear diary,
Throughout my educational career, one of which I have not yet finished, I have
experienced many highs and many lows. Coming from a family where I was the middle child,
stress always found a way into my life whether it was living up to my older brothers’ name or
setting a prime example for the younger ones. Before I came to college I attended all “Bell
Gardens” schools; Bell Gardens Elementary, Intermediate and High school. They are not the
most prestigious of schools but they do a fairly decent job on teaching you the material that you
need to know. After looking back at my educational career so far, I can say that it was an overall
good experience.
I can admit that I have had much more lows than I have had highs in my educational
experiences. There was a time where I had reached my absolute lowest; this was in 8 th grade. I
can relate to not just a diary entry but to all the Freedom Writers in this case; in the sense that
expectations were set for them because of who they were just as in my case because my older
brother did good in school that is all they expected out of me. Now being a middle child was
hard always being expected to follow in the footsteps of your older brother and even setting an
example for the younger ones. Being only two years younger than my older brother Jaime, we
attended the same intermediate and high school for two years each. This caused a problem in
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intermediate school, well for me anyways. All of my brothers teachers (and I do mean all), knew
who I was so the expectations were already being set for me and I was not even in 8th grade yet; I
still had two years to go. With that being said those two years flew by quickly. Being an AVID
student just like my brother absolutely set me up for failure because this would grant me the
“privilege” of having the same teachers as my brother. Before I get to the part of the story where
I am in 8th grade I would like to say that in my previous years I was an A, B student but I am
proud of what I did. So 8th grade year started and I was in no way shape or form excited for it. It
was time for the teacher expectations to fall into place in my life. This year was the year where I
ended my A, B grade streak and managed to let down every possible person that held those
expectations for me. My entire 8th grade year I was compared to my brother drastically. They did
not understand that I was me, my own person not my brother. My brother was a great student so
all my teachers expected the same out of me and continuously used that against me. It was
because of this that I failed every single one of my classes, well except for P.E. I had an F in
Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, and even the AVID class itself. I became an utter
disappointment to my brother’s name and I loved it. My 8th grade year was just the worst year of
school that I ever had. I did not appreciate continuously being compared to and seen as my
brother so I made it clear I was my own person.
Although I did not have many highs in my educational career I believe they still outweigh
the lows. One of the best educational experiences I had was in my junior year of high school. It
was the best year I had academically in my high school career. I was taking three AP classes and
excelled in I also excelled in every single class on top of being a varsity athlete year round. My
previous years in high school had not gone too well with GPA’s of 2.5’s and 2.83’s, never
reaching that 3.0 average. Then junior year came around and I had reached that goal but not only
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did I reach it I surpassed it getting a 3.5 average first semester. I am not much a school person
but I felt happy getting good grades. It was a different feeling from the one I got getting average
grades. It was a feeling I was not yet used to, well at least academically. Although I did well my
1st semester, my 2nd semester was where I really excelled. I had worked really hard all semester
to obtain good grades and I did it. Just as is explained in Carol Dwecks article “The Perils and
Promise of Praise” there is an explanation of a fixed and growth mindset and how they contrast. I
had a growth mindset in my junior year of highschool. The effort that I put into my studies was
seen as “a positive thing” and “it [ignited my] intelligence and [caused] it to grow” (Dweck,
Par.14). Having a growth mindset my junior year really is what allowed me to succeed. By being
interested in my learning I was able to finish my junior year off with a 3.83 GPA. This was no
easy task with the crazy schedule I had; not only was I in three AP classes, I was a varsity starter
in football, wrestling, as well as in track and field. I faced many obstacles on my journey whether
it was getting home late from practice and being too tired to do homework/study or even the
biggest obstacle for teenage kids, time management. Due to my growth mindset I was able to
overcome all of the obstacles I faced and pulled through to reach my goal. During this year not
only did I strive academically but I also strived in my sports making it to CIF in both football
and wrestling. Having this amazing junior year set me up for senior year striving for success. To
sum up my academic success in high school, although I did not go to a four year university, I got
accepted to Humboldt, Cal state L.A., and San Diego State university.
Between my highs and lows throughout my educational experience I have, according to
Dwecks ideas of a fixed and growth mindset, developed a growth mindset. I went from
underachieving and giving up to excelling in my academics and allowing myself to become a
better student. I strive to get better and put the time and effort in to do so and it pays off in the
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long run. Sure I am at a community college now but I still strive to be better to prepare myself to
obtain my bachelors and then eventually my masters. Being in a community college will also
help reduce the college pressures explained in William Zinsers article “College pressures”.
Developing myself at a community college and figuring out what I want to do with my life helps
reduce the four pressures that college students face. I have time to coop with these pressures and
mature enough to allow it them to have less of an impact on me. I have set goals for myself to
reach and due to my growth mindset I will continuously engage in my studies and learning to be
the best student I can possibly be and then do better than that.
When it came to which college I should attend I was stumped; I did not know
where I wanted to go. I thought Humboldt would be the place for me but then I realized that it
was too far from home so I came here to Pasadena City College to figure out what I wanted to do
with my life then transfer to a four year. I also decided to come here because my brother was
supposed to attend Pasadena City College but ended up not applying and stayed working at his
job. I hope college will add great new memories and friends to my educational experiences. I
also want it to help me develop into a more mature individual who is prepared to face and take
on any obstacle I may have to face on the rest of my educational journey to success.
I have figured out what I want to do with my life her at Pasadena City College. I
have decided I want to become a social worker. I plan on getting my master on social working
(MSW). Where I will get my masters I do not know but I do know that after I am done here at
Pasadena City College I would like to transfer to Dominguez hills and get my bachelor’s degree.
In order for me to achieve these goals I will work hard, pass my classes, become transferable,
and be 150% committed in furthering my education. In due time I will be prepared to move on to
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a four year university and become one step closer to achieving all my goals and reach the success
I aim for.
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Bibliography
Dweck, Carol. “The Perils and Promise of Praise” 2007. Canvas.
The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary. New York, Broadway
Books, 2009. Print
Zinser, William. “College Pressures” The Norton Reader, Norton-Simon Publishing, 1978.
Canvas.