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Alondra Reyes
Professor Duran
English 100
6 October 2014
A Little Girl in a Big World
As a little girl in such a big complicated world I ran around free like a dove in the
mid sky with no worries. As a child it was all fun and games but as I got older things
began to change. When I was six years old I started the first day of school. I was so
excited to learn and make new friends. Everything seemed so perfect I would learn and
also get to play on the playground during recess. I couldnt wait to get on the slides and
swing on the monkey bars like a real monkey. Everything seemed to be perfect except for
one thing, my language. Growing up my main language was Spanish because that is all I
was taught. My parents did not speak much English so I had no way to learn it if I never
heard at it home. I went to school blinded by the darkness of the foreign language. When
I was in school my teachers started to notice that I wasnt fluent in English. They called
parent meetings and put me in extra classes that would help me become more fluent. I felt
different like an alien on planet Earth. All my friends spoke perfect English and I had a
little accent and sometimes I didnt understand certain things. As a little girl I wanted to
be like all my other friends and speak just like them. I did speak the same language they
did but I would ask myself why my English sounded a bit weird. Teachers said the speech
classes would help and that was a huge motivation to me and my parents so I could have
two languages that would help me in the future.
My parents tried to help me as much as they could but how could they if they

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didnt speak the language good themselves. When it came time for homework I always
had trouble. My parents always tried their best to help me but it wasnt much. They didnt
complete much education so I had to kind of figure it out some way but they were always
there to help and support as best they could. There were many nights when my mom
would sit with me until my homework was perfect. I remember all the eraser marks she
would create on my crumpled paper, but she knew one day it would all be worth it. It was
a struggle not only for me but for my parents also because they didnt want to see their
daughter having so much difficulty in school. My parents wanted me to learn to write and
speak English fluently without forgetting my roots and my language. No matter how
many tongues I spoke how could I forget the language that first introduced me to the
world.
When I was six years old my aunt would take care of me and my younger brother
because my parents worked. I literally would spend most of my time at her house and that
actually benefited my situation. Her daughters, my cousins, which are a couple years
older than I am had a big impact on the improving of my speech. Since they were older
than me and they had the language down perfectly. They helped me a lot to better my
English. When I would say something incorrectly they would correct me. Every time I
was wrong the loud No ringed in my ear. They had conversations with me and I would
have to answer them back in English. I felt like I was being interrogated by the police. It
really did help me out. I remember on Christmas of 2001 we have a home video were I
come out talking English and I still had a minor accent but it was improving. Every time I
see that video it reminds me of an obstacle course that I overcame with practice like a
warrior. I guess practice does make perfect. As time went by everybody started noticing

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the change and I stopped feeling like the ugly duckling. I was no longer the outsider that
was lost in the dark woods I had found the light that would guide my path. Now, I felt
like I was actually a player on my team.
A language that one is born with hearing since the day the first breath was taken
will stay with you forever. For example, in the story The Myth of the Latin Woman: I
Just Met a Girl Named Maria, by Judith Ortiz Cofer she states that, you can leave the
Island, master the English language, and travel as far as you can, but if you are a Latina,
especially one like me who so obviously belongs to Rita Morenos gene pool, the Island
travels with you (Cofer 78). Traveling and moving away from ones hometown can
change different aspects of the way your living style. One thing that wont change is the
language that one is born with and has been passed down by ancestors. A language is
more than just a tongue, it identifies who you are, where you come from, and what your
roots are. When one is born in a country where the dominant language is English you are
expected to speak it and carry it on all the time. Many people discriminate others for not
being able to comprehend a language they are not familiar with. In the story, How to
Tame a Wild Tongue, by Gloria Anzalda she says that, If you want to be American,
speak American. If you dont like it, go back to Mexico where you belong (Anzalda
23). Speaking a foreign language is not a crime. Its discrimination to tell someone to
speak a language and verbally tell me them to return to their country. Everybody plays
the role of language in cultures. The language is what defines our culture. Additionally, in
the story, If Black Isnt a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?, by James Baldwin states
that, Language, incontestably, reveals the speaker. Language, also, far more dubiously, is
meant to define the other

and, in this case, the other is refusing to be defined by a

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language that has never been able to recognize him (Baldwin 33). Here Baldwin
expresses how one cant be categorized or defined by a tongue that does not accept them.
After many years of ups and downs I got to the finish line of the race. I overcame
the struggle of my English difficulty. It was not something that occurred in one night it
was a process that helped me be where I am now. Along the way things got much easier
because I now have mastered the language. Its sometimes hard to believe that someone
that is born in the Untied States is not born with the language. The language I spoke was
and will always be a part of me, my family, and my culture. I was always brought up with
the idea that being bilingual and speaking many languages can open many more doors.
This is why I went through the whole package to have a second language to brighten my
future along the way. After mastering the language I was able to not only help myself but
others around me. As my brother started getting older I tried giving him all the help that I
didnt have. I didnt want him to go through the same situation I had. It also helped my
parents understand the language much more and now we all speak it. Always keeping in
mind what my culture is and never forgetting my Latino roots.
Coming into Pasadena City College I was super excited and nervous to start a new
chapter in my life. Now that I am here I want to do the best I have ever done and master
all my weaknesses to the best of my ability. In this class of English 100 I want to be able
to become a better critical thinker, a better writer, and strengthen my skills. I will put all
of my part to be able to better myself in every aspect so maybe one day I can become a
good writer. I hope I am able to accomplish these skills in English 100. I know it will take
sometime for me to be good in every aspect but with dedication and perseverance I know
I will be able to do it.

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