“Does destiny exist?” is a question that I've been pondering since the day I learned that I almost became a bastard – I was born a few days after my parents' marriage.
My life was destined to be hard and there was no way that I could change it. I grew up watching my father struggle to take care of me and his business. I remembered all we ate was rice porridge, canned beans for protein, and vegetables. My parents were busy, struggling to build themselves a career, so I was sent to my grandparents' house in the countryside. My grandparents, like many in their generation, because of WWII and fleeing their home country from invading armies, had not been able to even finish middle school. While my grandparents taught me spoken Cantonese, I taught them a little bit of the English I learned at school.
Up until 4th grade, I was just an average kid with average class rank and average grades. But something made me realize that I had more I could give, more potential to be realized. Day and night, I abandoned my TV and convinced my father to buy additional exercise book so that I could work more. I worked hard and received my reward. By 5th grade I raised my rank and grades and was promoted to honors classes. I tasted success and wanted more, but the small rural …show more content…
I was promoted to 9th grade, the grade that I was supposed to be in. My ninth grade geometry teacher tried to discourage me from challenging myself. He said that I should take my time in high school, take one math credit per year, especially when I should focus on improving my English. Instead of giving in, I rejected those notions and signed up for both Algebra II online course and Pre-Calculus as a sophomore. Within a few months, I'd proved him wrong. I received second place in Poetry OutLoud County Finals, and one year later I made a 5 on the AP Calculus
My life was destined to be hard and there was no way that I could change it. I grew up watching my father struggle to take care of me and his business. I remembered all we ate was rice porridge, canned beans for protein, and vegetables. My parents were busy, struggling to build themselves a career, so I was sent to my grandparents' house in the countryside. My grandparents, like many in their generation, because of WWII and fleeing their home country from invading armies, had not been able to even finish middle school. While my grandparents taught me spoken Cantonese, I taught them a little bit of the English I learned at school.
Up until 4th grade, I was just an average kid with average class rank and average grades. But something made me realize that I had more I could give, more potential to be realized. Day and night, I abandoned my TV and convinced my father to buy additional exercise book so that I could work more. I worked hard and received my reward. By 5th grade I raised my rank and grades and was promoted to honors classes. I tasted success and wanted more, but the small rural …show more content…
I was promoted to 9th grade, the grade that I was supposed to be in. My ninth grade geometry teacher tried to discourage me from challenging myself. He said that I should take my time in high school, take one math credit per year, especially when I should focus on improving my English. Instead of giving in, I rejected those notions and signed up for both Algebra II online course and Pre-Calculus as a sophomore. Within a few months, I'd proved him wrong. I received second place in Poetry OutLoud County Finals, and one year later I made a 5 on the AP Calculus