I was born and raised in West Covina and came from family of six (my parents and three other sisters). The educational years of my life was easy at first, then on later years; it turned out to be very challenging and difficult because I was struggling with my studies. I was an average student. I transferred to four different schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Extra-curricular activities like school plays, drawing, and choir were my favorite things. However, it didn't serve any purpose into inspiring me to take up my studies seriously. I enjoyed understanding the concepts more than just memorizing several notes. One particularly good experience I had from my past education was when I passed my final from biology at the end of my sophomore year at South Hills High School. On the day before I took my biology final, my teacher, Mr. Vasilichak lectured the whole class about what was going to be on the test for each chapter from beginning to end of what we had been learning so far. I have been taking notes by listening to the teacher word for word. I went through the notes, book, and understood the questions. I took the time to study for my biology final at the school library until it closed. Then, on the day of the test, I felt much energized and was ready to take the test. When my teacher passed the test, I was a little nervous, but I was confident enough to answer the questions. When I was finished with the test, I exited the classroom with a smile on my face because I feel so positive and knew I would pass the test. I think this is a good experience because I have been working really hard, keeping in track on my work, and turning it in on time. Sometimes, I used to ask my teacher whether I have problems with any topic that relates to biology. One particularity bad experience I had in my previous education was the English classes I have been taking during my first year at college. During my winter semester, I have been doing the work, which the professor instructed us to do. However, I received corrections and comments from the professor. I tried to ask about the comments and concerns about the essay I wrote, but he refused to respond. I have been making a couple of paragraphs to try to make sense that relates to the main idea of the topic from the story, but I still struggle with grammar and punctuation. I have been visiting to the “Writing Café”, the place where tutors can help students write good essays. One of the tutors and I worked together by reading every paragraph I wrote, correcting grammar, and concluded an ending of the essay. This was a bad experience because the professor and I did not communicate much because I have other subjects to work on and my schedule was very tight. Also, I have put myself through so much pressure and effort that I couldn’t concentrate on my schoolwork. Sometimes, I got easily distracted by social network websites and events. I tried to manage my time to finish my essay, find several people who can correct my essay, jotted down more ideas or details, and turning it in on time. The ideas from the story called “Brainology”, by Carol Dweck can relate to my educational experiences, which included maybe in the middle of both mindset, but mostly, I am more of a fixed mindset than of a growth mindset. Sometimes, I tried to do my best to complete any work, but I am willing to face something so difficult that I felt like I need more time to go deep within the concepts of a task. The two ideas from the Dweck article I have been experienced is “If you feel dumb—permanently dumb…(Dweck 2)” and “The children praised for their intelligence lost…(Dweck 3). Based on my educational experience that relates the two ideas, when I received a passing grade on Accounting 101 Exam Final, I felt like I can pass the upper level of Accounting- which was quite challenging. I tried very hard which caused to fail this class during winter semester. Based on my educational experience, I am struggling with Academic Reading and Writing because I have difficulty of expressing myself. I felt confident in these areas because every time I wrote a material, I feel like writing my own story from what comes to my mind and I want the readers to hear what I am going to say. I have a desire of mastering reading and writing English, but I feel that I need more time to learn and be motivated. I do feel a sense of purpose about developing these skills because it can really help me express myself better and become more confident. For Math, I have enjoyed math because I understand all the basic math skills, formulas, and calculation. I do feel confident in my math skills because I understand the steps and process of solving the problem, it does not involve any writing. I do feel a desire for mastering math because I think it is easier for me to master mathematics. I do feel a sense of purpose about developing math skills because I can gain knowledge and share the information to other people.While in Citrus College, I want to develop more reading, writing, math skills, feel motivated, understand the concepts, support classmates, and express myself even better. For my learning, you can help me correct what I’m doing wrong to make it right. The only thing I am afraid of is that I may not reach expectations. I feel excited about my English class now because I could be a better writer.
