Stepping into the Unknown

You could hear hearts thumping, the wind mumbling, the cheers of the crowd aligning with the sunshine. The time was still, my mind reborn, and my purpose set. Soccer brought my family together. It was the one thing that we all shared a passion for. It was the one thing I was good at. The only thing that made my dad proud of me. It gave me comfort and reassurance. Soccer became a necessity. I was born in Downtown Los Angeles but grew up in Lennox along with my other four siblings. As the oldest, I have had to act as a role model for the rest of my siblings. My parents were both born in Guatemala and so their childhood was very rough. They had to work in agriculture at a young age just to take the very little they earned to their families. I think that is why my parents expected so much of me. I was taken with my mom when she had to go to work or I stayed home watching over my younger siblings. I learned that everyday needs to be full of hard work. Hard work creates the path to success and success rises from the desire of self-improvement within.

One important aspect for succeeding is learning how to manage your time. For instance, I had trouble keeping up with my responsibilities. I had to go to work, go to school, go to the gym, had to take care of my siblings and on top of that I wanted to get involved in extracurricular activities. My daily routine was a mess having to run from school to pick up my younger siblings and then to work. From work I would come in a hurry to finish up my homework. My assignments were crammed inside my head, not remembering all of my assignments. Everyday was filled with stress for me. It was not until I decided to organize my schedule that made a difference for me. I bought a calendar and some sticky notes. I placed my calendar near my door and wrote important deadlines and dates on it. I used my sticky notes to write down my homework and assignments. Every time I finished an assignment I was able to get rid of the stick note, until then I carried it with me to remind myself to complete the assignment. This was a form of structure. I was able to manage my time. I realized that having my days organized with specific duties gave me extra time for myself. I could enjoy some free time without having to rush. Managing your time allows for you to concentrate on your activity. Concentration marks the path to success because concentration creates time and effort. Time and effort are the foundation of success.

In addition, the power of studying can help improve your skills in school. For example, my math teacher goes over different problems everyday. I was getting lost. My notebook was filled with math equations it was hard to even understand what was written so I never bothered to look at it. My math test came along 2 weeks later and I did not do so well. At this rate I was not going to pass class and I did not want spend money taking the class all over again. In class I started to title my notes with colored pens and on the side I wrote down the date. The colored pens helped me distinguish the different chapters and their examples. When I opened my notebook it was all color coded and organized that it made it easier to follow along. It actually compelled me to review my notes. Every other day I would open my notebook and redo some of the problems I had written down in class. This was my way of studying and it proved to be effective when I earned a B on my second test. Studying is not about writing stuff down and just looking at it later. It is about wanting and trying. To succeed you need to put in time to organize your notes and review them until you retain the material. That way you know for a fact that you are confident in your knowledge of the material.