Having come from a first generation immigrant family, life was never easy here in the United States. This land which we call “land of opportunity”, was in fact, full of opportunity; we just needed to know where to look. Unfortunately, my parents whom were not fluent in the English language, had a very difficult time. We relied on other family members who were just as 5 confused, yet just as hopeful. We had each other, yes, but we didn’t have ready available access to all government resources. With that disadvantage in mind, it still amazes me how my parents were able to carry our family forward, how my parents were able to endow me with a thing that is much more precious to me than money or material: a good sense of responsibility. Most importantly,
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This lead to earning the fine grades for which I was remembered in all the schools I attended. Coming into honors and AP classes, 15 however, this became an increasingly arduous task to do. It didn’t matter to me whether the teacher was considered ‘mean’ or ‘nice’ or even ‘bad’ or ‘good’; my sense of responsibility let if fall on myself to learn the material one way or another. Today, many students and friends of mine too often fall into the error of complaining about the ‘bad’ or ‘mean’ teacher they were scheduled with. They are quick to forget that their own efforts and actions are the ones that will 20 be graded and remembered; not how well or poor the teacher performed. Harsh reality, I know, but acting through this realization has worked for me countless times. Through it, I’ve even been able to help others with their struggles in the classroom as well because relying on myself for the most part, has taught me to thoroughly go through the information and therefore have a deeper understanding of it. It’s taught me independence, self-reliance, autonomy. This 25 by no means, though, suggests that it’s even moderately acceptable for teachers not to perform well; it means that it’s not even moderately acceptable for students to do
This lead to earning the fine grades for which I was remembered in all the schools I attended. Coming into honors and AP classes, 15 however, this became an increasingly arduous task to do. It didn’t matter to me whether the teacher was considered ‘mean’ or ‘nice’ or even ‘bad’ or ‘good’; my sense of responsibility let if fall on myself to learn the material one way or another. Today, many students and friends of mine too often fall into the error of complaining about the ‘bad’ or ‘mean’ teacher they were scheduled with. They are quick to forget that their own efforts and actions are the ones that will 20 be graded and remembered; not how well or poor the teacher performed. Harsh reality, I know, but acting through this realization has worked for me countless times. Through it, I’ve even been able to help others with their struggles in the classroom as well because relying on myself for the most part, has taught me to thoroughly go through the information and therefore have a deeper understanding of it. It’s taught me independence, self-reliance, autonomy. This 25 by no means, though, suggests that it’s even moderately acceptable for teachers not to perform well; it means that it’s not even moderately acceptable for students to do