<p>Hello all,
I wrote these about 3 months ago in my AVID class (for who are not familiar, an elective in which prepares one for college), and my teacher proofread them. I'm certain that these need a bit more work.
If any of you can give me tips, marks, corrections, ANYTHING! .... please let me know!
Much love,
Alexa</p>
<p>(First essay)</p>
<p>As I reminisce the memories, the hours, the seconds, and the moments that I have lived in my life, my eyes begin to moisten. They dont swell up for the joyous moments. They dont swell up for the grave moments. My eyes moisten for life. And when I return to those memories when I was seven, a time where pure sentiments and naïve behavior are essential, the combustion of your family eradicates your world. And at seven years old, I was not fully prepared for life itself. </p>
<pre><code>My mother had gained custody of her daughter, and knew that she must always encourage her to strive in academics, an opportunity that she was unable to grasp due to her own mothers religious convictions and beliefs. Prevalent though -in my mothers home country of Guatemala- she knew that she wouldnt be able to broaden her intellect. She knew that she wouldnt have another chance to become successful herself. However, once she was given the opportunity to start a new life in the United States, she took the risk of becoming serendipitous or insufficient in American society. Though oblivious to the American customs, she did not contemplate her chances of receiving a higher education. Her altruistic heart proclaimed that her youth must be restored in her own children. Sitting in the passenger seat of her 1992 (barely running) Toyota Previa, I would examine her face as she scurried out of traffic from Home Gardens Elementary. Sweat dripping from her face as a result of the faulty air conditioner, I handed her my water that my cafeteria had given me. She engulfed the water in a matter of seconds, inattentive of the long miles that await us. That half an hour in child times felt like the water drought that California were abiding to. And that half an hour was extended on a weekly basis for the mandatory stop for gasoline. My mother, the bold and fearless woman she is, had opened a small compartment under the radio that held her coins. She asks, Nena, can you help me count $20 in coins please? Five minutes pass and we have almost enough money to make it home. She leaves me unattended for five risky minutes. She smiles and returns safely and proceeds to pump the gasoline for our ride home. Of course my mother opts to take the longer route home, the 91 east to the 215. We passed by University of California, Riverside. My brain had not obtained any knowledge on the importance of college and the pursuit of a career, but my mother said, Nena, look! UCR. Wow. It must be a great feeling to go to a school like that. She took a hastily extensive breath of air and said, I know you wont understand the goodness of going to school, but I hope one day you realize that school is very important. I want you to go to a school like this so you can be a better person in America and not be like me. Please, just dont be a failure like me.
Because of my mothers aspirations and certainties for her last born child to become successful I have been given a confidence and a continuous strive in my studies and have learned to always be gracious for what I have received in my life. Education has always been my virtue, and Ive learned that even with the absence of my both parents, unity is evermore present. Education and academics will forevermore be something that I can confide in.
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<p>(Second essay)
For 16 years, I was the baby in my family. This position was mine and only mine. I felt superior to my own siblings, even though I was the infant.</p>
<pre><code>My father remarried but never expected to start another family. On Mothers Day 2011, we received news that my stepmother was pregnant. Youre no longer the baby in the family! my father exclaimed. It felt deeming to know that my status in the family was soon to be eradicated. Though I was ecstatic to welcome a new sibling into my family, I knew that my life was going to change for the good and for the worse.
Id have to accompany my stepmother to doctors appointments and frequent stops to our local McDonalds. For the most part, being with her was never advantageous. Our weight fluctuated, and we werent concerned. It was until one of our frequent visits to the doctor that we were perturbed. The little girl, who Id grown to know as Sophia, was on the brink of death. My stepmother was immediately admitted into the emergency room. I was an alien in the room; it had been the day of my birth that I had been in that hospital. Never would I have thought that Id return for the premature death of my sister.
My own selflessness drove me to new levels. I was unhappy and I lacked the vividness I once had obtained. I wasnt the same person emotionally and moreover physically. Being the couch potato that I was, Id watch hours of television. As I carelessly flipped through channels, I stumbled across the HVC Network, and there was an advertisement for this Exuberant and Exhilarating new exercise program called Zumba Fitness. The name seemed familiar to my Spanish tongue. The video testimonials exclaimed, Im (name) and I lost 40 pounds in 6 months of using Zumba Fitness! Amazing! Wow! My stubborn intuitions presumed that this would never work. However, my enthusiastic deduction believed that I should at least try it. I gave up my hard earned money to buy it.
A week passed by and the DVD set finally arrived at my doorstep. Upon more research, I learned that this program was the most elite and sophisticated fitness program there was out there. I believed it. I popped in the first DVD, the beginners disc. Twenty five minutes in, and I was deluging in my own sweat. That first session was the baptism of a new found hobby that I would come to grow accustomed to and have an affinity for.
Months have gone by, my stepmother is without her child, and I am without a sister that could look up to me. However, my confidence and own self-esteem has recovered from the hiatus that occurred months ago. This confidence has given me a voice for myself. I no longer follow; a simple characteristic that many people are naturally born with is not something Ive obtained. My newly found confidence has opened up opportunities that would have never been possible if I hadnt become the person I am now.
In a Hispanic family that was primordially destined for instability, I have refused to let the risk of inadequacy bring me down. My mother has showed me how to be a leader, how hard work is humane towards the youth, and how anyone can overcome the rigorous path set by life.
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