When I arrived to the United States from my home country of Venezuela, I had little knowledge of the English language. When I arrived here, the main things I knew were how to count from one to ten, the colors, and how to introduce myself- “Hello, my name is Guillermo”. When I was living in Pennsylvania my first year, all my friends were Hispanic. I would speak in Spanish at home and at school. However, I realized that if I was speaking in Spanish regularly, it would not help me learn English. From then on, I decided to focus more on the lectures that the teacher gave us. I would speak with teachers and other students so that I could learn more. Learning English in about three years was not easy. It required hard work and dedication. I’m still learning it, but now I have enough knowledge to say that I have learned the language through perseverance.
One of the hardest things I have had to do was to live without my mom. My mom had been my best friend since I was a child. She taught me how to cook, how to care for plants, and how to dance salsa. If I had a problem in school or with my friends, I could always talk to her and she would always listen. When we were doing the paperwork to come to the United States, we found out that only my dad, my brother, and I could come, but my mom could not. There was nothing we could do, so she told my brother and I that we must leave with my dad because it would mean that we would have better opportunities there than in Venezuela, and we would learn another language and culture. Since I have been in the United States, I call my mom every week and talk to her about how I am doing in school. It breaks my heart that she could not be here throughout my high school years to share my experiences with her, in person, instead by telephone. However, looking back on my life in Venezuela, I was so close to her that I feel that I would not have been able to leave my mom after I graduated from high school and become a person of my own. That is why I feel that coming to the United States might have actually helped my future. There are more opportunities here, of course, but I believe living without my mom has given me the independence I needed to leave the nest. It has made me strong enough to overcome any obstacle that I might face in the future.
During my high school years, I have taken different courses to help me decide what it is I want to do after I get out of high school. I have taken many different electives, from art and theater, to construction and psychology. They have given me an idea of what I want to pursue as a career, but I still could not decide.
Throughout my senior year, I have been battling what I want to study in college. It is a big decision and I am afraid I will not make the right one. However the answer always leads to the fact that I want to go to college, I want to get an education and make a living by doing something I love, but what does it matter whether I choose to study computer science, criminal justice, or theater if I cannot pay to study it? That is why I really need this scholarship, because without it, I may not get to accomplish my main goal: to go to college. I am confident that I will succeed in college; I believe I am ready and prepared for this next level of education that awaits me. Even though I am not sure what I will end up studying when I get there, I am sure it will be something I am passionate about.
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