“Throwing Down The Gauntlet On My Life”
I’m a junior at Presbyterian Pan American School. I was born in Brownsville, Texas, but since my parents are Mexican nationals, I grew up in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico. In 2013, my parents told me to “pack your bags” you are going to Kingsville, Texas. I came to Texas three years ago to attend Presbyterian Pan American School (PPAS), a senior private boarding school in Kingsville, Texas, on an academic scholarship. Talking about different aspects of my life is daunting, but it also allows me to come to terms with my growth as an individual by learning from my failures, confronting obstacles such as adapting to new surroundings, and a different educational system, speaking English properly, and adjusting to a real world working environment. …show more content…
Leaving my home in Mexico and coming to a boarding school in the U.S. was a major lifestyle change for me. I lived in Mexico my whole life before I moved to PPAS at 13 years of age. My first day was difficult, but unlike other students, I was not homesick. My parents had prepared me since I was a small child to one day be prepared to leave home and make my own life. This was my first step into my ultimate goal: attending college in the U.S. I also had to learn how to make new friends, who in retrospect, were in the same situation being in a new school system, with grades, schedules, and teaching that were different from the Mexican system.
Speaking English properly has been a challenge that slowly I am learning to overcome. During my first year at school my English capabilities were not fully developed. Even though I could read, write, and understand English, I still had to improve my pronunciation skills. With time, being around students and teachers that spoke only English helped me refine my communication
I’m a junior at Presbyterian Pan American School. I was born in Brownsville, Texas, but since my parents are Mexican nationals, I grew up in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico. In 2013, my parents told me to “pack your bags” you are going to Kingsville, Texas. I came to Texas three years ago to attend Presbyterian Pan American School (PPAS), a senior private boarding school in Kingsville, Texas, on an academic scholarship. Talking about different aspects of my life is daunting, but it also allows me to come to terms with my growth as an individual by learning from my failures, confronting obstacles such as adapting to new surroundings, and a different educational system, speaking English properly, and adjusting to a real world working environment. …show more content…
Leaving my home in Mexico and coming to a boarding school in the U.S. was a major lifestyle change for me. I lived in Mexico my whole life before I moved to PPAS at 13 years of age. My first day was difficult, but unlike other students, I was not homesick. My parents had prepared me since I was a small child to one day be prepared to leave home and make my own life. This was my first step into my ultimate goal: attending college in the U.S. I also had to learn how to make new friends, who in retrospect, were in the same situation being in a new school system, with grades, schedules, and teaching that were different from the Mexican system.
Speaking English properly has been a challenge that slowly I am learning to overcome. During my first year at school my English capabilities were not fully developed. Even though I could read, write, and understand English, I still had to improve my pronunciation skills. With time, being around students and teachers that spoke only English helped me refine my communication