When I think of the word “skill”, I think of a person’s talent that they’ve developed or naturally have, and they’re also able to extend it outside the classroom, field, gym, etc. If I had to choose what my greatest skill was I’d say acro-yoga. Although I’ve only recently started working on it this summer, I already learned so much and accomplished many goals. With acro-yoga comes the skill of perseverance, overcoming situations, communication, and most importantly a positive mindset. When my partner and I decided to give it a try, and let me tell you, it was a complete failure. There was anger, miscommunication, and frustration. I woke up the next day full of bruises due to all the times I had fallen. Even though I was full of bruises, we decided to keep trying; we figured might as well do it for fun after our gym workouts. We both never thought we’d get to the point we are now. I’ve learned so many skills with acro-yoga, skills that a student is not able to learn by sitting in a classroom taking notes, or by being at home babysitting. The skill of perseverance was one of the many skills that I gained wit acro-yoga. I continuously worked towards many goals without giving up, despite the delay in achieving success; it took countless hours to try and get a pose right. I also learned that just because we couldn’t get a pose right, didn’t mean we couldn’t try it a different way than what the videos explained. In life, there are many different ways to get around a problem or situation. I believe that learning to have a positive mindset had the biggest impact on my life. Before I started going to the gym and doing acro-yoga, I never really wanted to get out of my comfort zone. I was too scared to try new things because the thought of failure haunted me. I’ve come to learn that it’s okay to fail, and that’s only one more reason to try harder and strive for your goals.
Challenges are something that comes with life, no matter what you do, or where you end up. You’ll always be facing new challenges, whether they are small or big. The biggest challenge I had to overcome happened my sophomore year, right after freshman year in high school. Let’s just say that I was that one freshman in school that never believed how fast the years would go by and I’d always say, “I still have 3 more years”. I slacked off that entire year, never thinking about how much it would affect me the years after that. I didn’t pass Physical Science that year and the rest of my classes I had barely passed with a level 3, which is a B. I never thought about any universities or colleges, and never really cared for trying in academics, never going beyond to try and get a level 4 (an A+). Eventually sophomore year came around and realized I was put in a Physical Science class for an 8th period, which is afterschool. I started to surround myself with better people that had goals in life. That’s when I realized that I had to get myself on the right path. This was very hard for me because I was never the type of person that liked working hard. I started doing my homework to get on pace on my classes. My sophomore year I didn’t go for much level 4s in my classes but my GPA increased. I had two science classes that year, Biology and Physical Science for 8th period. I also ended up getting another 8th period after finishing Physical Science, for Biology because I knew it wouldn’t hurt. Junior year came along and that was definitely my year. I achieved my highest GPA that year, got accepted into CSF and knew what I wanted to do with life. Throughout this challenge I learned that no matter how bad you’ve messed up in life, it’s never too late to start over.
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In summer 2015, I volunteered to be a SCICON counselor for a week. SCICON is an outdoor school science camp where 6th graders get to stay at for a week and learn all about outdoor science first hand. As a counselor, I was taking care of 12 girls in one of the cabins and I had to be a leader and make sure they were always on schedule. I actually ended up going back during fall because I enjoyed being around the kids as well as out in nature. The summer before that, I was a coach assistant for my city’s swim team. I helped 5-9 year olds get extra help in the swimming strokes that the coach thought they needed. Some of the extracurricular activities I participated in the past 2 years in high school were, in the varsity soccer, and track team. Summer 2016 I finally got my first job as a teacher aid during summer school, for three weeks. I also helped my school make the new Ballet Folklorico club, which was much wanted and needed in our school. I am an officer in that club and have helped spread the word about it and we got so many students. We have performed once, and we’re currently working with getting that club as an actual class or course. I’m also an officer in the My Voice club which is about spreading awareness of sexual violence or domestic violence. In my high school years, I’ve definitely learned so much that has helped me become the person I am today.
I have definitely received a lot of support from my school, and I am glad I chose to look for help. My first two years of high school were very hard for me because I didn’t have anyone older to give me advice or to tell me about the school’s system. I struggled my first year and my second year of high school I had to take an 8th period, which is an after school class. I utilized this class to finish a course that I hadn’t passed the year before. Once I had finally passed that course, I also signed up to an after school program that our school offers that is called Red Zone. During Red Zone, I would get most of my homework done before leaving school because I knew that at home I would procrastinate. I believe my grades in high school do reflect on my academic ability because all the hard work I’ve put in, now my grades are much better. I always tell myself that in the end of the day, I get what I put in, so the more effort I put in, the better grades I’ll get. As a result of that, I’m really looking forward to put in as much effort into my work so my grades can continue to reflect on that. I definitely would like to attend college and get my degree in Kinesiology. I’ve already achieved so many goals throughout high school, and throughout my college career I will only keep setting and accomplishing more of my goals. What influenced me and motivated me to get myself on the right path was the fact that my freshman year in high school I messed up real bad. I had only average grades and there were some classes I was failing. I didn’t realize how much it’d all affect me my sophomore year, so when sophomore year came around I was mad. I was determined to get back on track and get much better grades. Now I know that everything is possible and that it’s never too late to have a fresh start. The fact that I am the first person in my family to go to college is definitely a motivation. The reasons I would love to attend college is because I want to make my family proud as well as set an example for my 5 younger siblings, prove everyone who doubted me wrong, but mainly to get out there and experience the outside world. I want to learn. I want to experience new things because I know that this small town I live in isn’t everything. My mother and I would always joke around and wondered who would receive the high school diploma first. She had been working with a program for two years trying to finish high school, then came the time where she had to take one last test, and she passed the first try. The company sent her the graduation diploma around December, but she had to wait until June to walk with the class she had been working with. Well she obviously beat me to it.
It was around 4pm, I had just came back from working out at the gym and I was in a huge rush to get ready and changed because my mother’s graduation was in an hour. I got home, showered as fast as I could and then changed into a burgundy dress. “Are you almost done? We have to get there early c’mon!” yelled my mom. “Yes I’m ready let’s go, are you excited?” I said as I smiled at my mom. I was going through so many different feelings, but mainly, I was so proud. “I’m very excited yet nervous” my mom said with a small smile. My mom, sister, and I walked to the car quickly and drove off. While we were on the road, we got a bit lost. We knew that the graduation ceremony would be held in a room from a hotel, but there were two big hotels and we didn’t know which to go to. “Hey look, they’re carrying balloons and stuff so maybe it’s that one” my sister said as she pointed to some families walking into one of the hotels. “Well, we might as well check there first” I replied, and so we walked towards that hotel. I was relieved when I saw inside there was a chalk board saying what room the graduation ceremony would be held in. I thought it would be a bit hard to find the room, but it was actually just on the first floor so it was easy. We walked into the room where the graduation would be held in and we got there 30 minutes early so we were good. We decided to sit in the front to be able to get a better view, as well as better pictures! “All graduates, please report to the back of the room to receive the cap and gown. We will begin in 15 minutes. Thank you”. My mom then walked to the back of the room and came back with her cap and gown. At that point I was feeling even more proud. We still had some time to spare so we decided to take pictures before the ceremony began, because they wouldn’t be keeping their cap & gown. Then all the graduates were once again called because the ceremony was about to begin. Shortly after that, the well-known graduation song started to play and in pairs of two the graduates were walking in. “Look, look! Sofia, there’s my mom, aww she looks so excited!” I told my sister as I recorded with my phone. After everyone walked in, they sat in their chairs and so the ceremony began. Some people gave speeches and all, it was very similar to a normal high school graduation. During the ceremony, so many emotions hit me all at once. I was so proud of my mother. I remembered her always doing her homework in the middle of the night trying to finish it all up, I remember me having to help her out with my siblings as much as I could. I was also feeling a bit jittery because the thought that I also would be graduating in a year was lingering around in my head. Most importantly, that night I learned a very valuable lesson which really made a big impact in my life. My mom would always tell me, “you can do whatever you set your mind to”. I used to not really think much of it, but that night I learned that she was right. She had set an example for our family, that you really can do anything your set your mind to, as long as you put the time and effort. One year later now, she’s been going to Porterville College, taking 3 english classes that are low, but I’ve definitely seen improvement. That was the night when I realized that I have goals in my life, that I’m willing to work towards them, and that I will accomplish them. |
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