Sorry

“Trabajar duro te lleva a otros lugares, a lugares a los que quieres llegar” is a saying in Spanish my teacher Antuan used to say in the Dominican Republic. He gave us advice because some students didn’t want to work in class. Working hard rewards people because it gives the tools to learn new things.

When I first arrive to United States, for the first time , I learned what this saying meant. I thought how difficult it would be to become a bilingual student in the United States. To add to my predicament less attractive coming during my high school years. But then I meet teachers, I experience a familiar feeling around educators that make me feel at home . Esol teachers helped me a lot, and I pass my freshman year with a 3.7 GPA. Then for my Sophomore year, I got the opportunity to join the medical program of Royal Palm Beach School. I was feeling really excited, and cheerful because I was selected from a few and I am learning English. Due to the medical program my ESOL English class changed to a regular English class. In the beginning I was excited because I left it, and I thought to myself, “I can’t believe I made it”.They changed my English class and my grades dropped in assignments I completed, i got a C on one of my courses, I felt embarrassed with a C , you would ask why? People in the United States will say that a C is a OKAY grade, but not for me, and for my parents that is not acceptable. I am not saying that people who have Cs are less intelligent , is just the fact that i don’t feel comfortable with a C, i don’t feel proud of it, of me ,with a C, i don’t feel like my work deserves a freaking “C”.
It’s not that is a C, is the fact to work hard, really hard, and get the lowest grade. And people who copy, who cheat, get good grades. That means that to get good grades i have to cheat? That’s how it works ? It seems that way.

I don’t want to make a big deal of it, but i really need to talk about it , as an English language learner is difficult for me read, write and understand as faster as a regular English speaker, I feel cheerless.

Teachers don’t know how hard students work, how hard English Language learner students work, is difficult to think in two languages at the same time, the one that you need to speak, and the one that you know. Like in one of my classes, teacher asked us about the theme of the story, I knew the answer , but while I translated in my mind someone else responded.

I started to pull through in my English class, i started to work harder, and yes, my grades improves, i went from a C to a B, and i’m sure that i would get an A at the end of the quarter.

This C have taught me many things, for example when you think you are working hard, work harder, do what you can, with what you have, where you are, and thank God for it. This “C” also took me places, deep places in my heart and in my memories, I don’t want to cry in public, I don’t want people to feel my tears. One of my peers was comparing life with a flower, he said that when the flower is shaking it represents a problem that you are passing thru. He also mentioned how the water makes the flower grow, that bad grade was my flower shaking, but the water represents the things that I have learned from.