This I Believe

Sharia Carillo This I Believe Rubric

the importance of accepting responsibility

Shaira Carillo Second Semester Rubrci

"This I believe"

I believe in forgiveness now, it doesn’t mean I always did! About a year ago I had a problem with the person I most love and care for. I had a problem with my mother. I felt she was hurting me, physically and emotionally. She was so serious back then, I felt she didn’t even love me. I even came to think that once that maybe I was not her daughter. My mom and I use to always fight. Until one day I couldn’t take it no more. I was going through depression. It was a hard time for me. I had problems at school, with my friends, my boyfriend, at work and problems at home. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I felt I had to take out what I was feeling inside. I always saw my moms sister as a second mom. I said to myself, why not talk with her about how I was feeling. After all she was family. My aunts name is Ana. I felt she understood me. We cried together. My mom really never listen to me. We never actually had a mother to daughter relationship. The problems was just so big between as, that it involved a social worker to interfere. The social worker said to me, “Shaira your mom is going through grown up problems, you maybe wouldn’t understand.” The social worker had decided that I had to live with my aunt for six months or in a faster home. My aunt pulled me close to her and she said “no need for that, she is going home with me.” There I was living with my aunt. My mom had the right to go visit me on weekends. Days pass by, even months, and my mom never went to go visit me. Not even once! On my 16th birthday I didn’t even see or get a call from her. I past Christmas and also New Year’s with out her. Until one day my mom called my aunt’s house and said for me to get ready, she was going to go pick me up. My mom hanged up on my aunt before she even reply back to her. My mom had this big anger towards my aunt. My aunt said “what’s wrong mija, seems you don’t really want to go with your mom or do you?’’ I stop doing what I was doing and started to break in to tears. My aunt hugged me and we had a talk. I remember what we said to each other that same day as if it was yesterday. I told my aunt, that the pain I was feeling was just s o deep, I hadn’t seen my mother for the longest and that I was scared of what might happen. I asked her why I had put up with all this drama in my life? I felt I was losing my mind. My aunt told me, “sometimes your up or your down, but that no matter what I’ll be here for you.” I then told her, but I’m so tired of smiling to everything, everyone, when the truth is that I’m dying inside.” She also said that what other people thought was not important it was what you felt inside. She also said that I had to leave everything behind and forgive my mother. Because after all she was my mother. Then I told my self that its better to forgive late, than never. The phone rang! My mom was calling to say she was outside. Before I walked out I hugged my aunt and she told me that the doors to her house would always be open for me. I walked outside, I got in the car. It was silent. We got home and started to talk. We both started to cry. My mom said to me that she loved me and that she never meant to hurt me in anyway. My mother ask me to forgive her? All I said back to her was that, “I can forgive but I cant forget.” Until this day am still living with my mom. My aunt and mom still don’t talk. I found out they had an argument while I was living with my aunt. The argument they had was over me. I sometimes think back about everything that happen. In a way am glad due to that problem me and my mother had, we have gotten now closer. But when I think about my aunt and my mother not talking to each other it hurts me. It hurts me to know that two sister’s after being so close, they don’t talk anymore. I always think about the day they can seat down together and talk, for them to them to be able to forgive each other. But most of all for them to leave all the problems behind, just like I did with mine!

''The important of accepting responsibility''

As you grow up you learn how to accept responsibility. You are not just born being responsible, you must learn how to be responsible in life. I had to learn how to be responsible the hard way. I was hanging out with the wrong people. I would use to skip classes, sometimes I would leave school campus and would not return to school that same day. After a while it started to be a habit and too many days absent started to effect my grades. Too many missing assignments from my classes. Too many days absent, also affected me from getting my credits. I knew that what I was doing, I must put a stop to! Until one day one of my teachers saw that I was missing a lot of days and work from her class. My teacher, Mr. Carol pulled me a side in the hallway and said, “Shaira can you please go to the main office after school, there will be a teachers meeting and we would all like for you to be there.” It was after school. There I was with all my teachers in the meeting room. The room door closed. Mrs. Carol started to speak. I was so nervous. Mrs. Carlos said to me, “I want the best for you. I need you to be responsible by doing your work and attending school, its for your own good.” My mom would ask e for my report cars and I would always lie to her, and I would tell her that the report cards still had not been given out to the students. Some days later the phone rang. I saw the caller ID, and it was from school. My mom hanged up, she ask me in a serious tone, “Shaira sit down and explain to me how is it that you have been missing school explain that to me?” I had no choice but to tell her the truth. When I was done talking she started to cry. I hugged her and said, “mom I’m sorry, I’m going to change for my own good, I need to start being more responsible with what I do.” like a month later I saw my report card. I had only A’s and B’s and like one C’. Mrs. Carol was passing by and asked if she could see my report card. She smiled and said “I’m so proud of you, this shows how responsible you are now and keep it up.” My education, my mom , and Mrs. Carol were my motives to take school more seriously and how to be responsible with my own stuff is important.

My Writing Reflection!!!

I feel that I have develop way more in my writing and spelling skills. This year I feel I have gain a lot throughout reading. Reading is everywhere and its import in life. I feel that when I write a personal essay I do great, on them. I express what I feel through writing. I can express what I feel and think. Am not really a reading person but when I do read it must be quiet for me to focus in what am reading. Same goes when I’m writing I need to put All my focus in what am doing.
This year was my first year in a AP English class. It was hard but not as I had imagine it. I found it more as a challenge then anything else. I thought I was not going to make it through. Thanks to my English teacher I feel I have accomplish something that will help me the day of tomorrow. The main thing I find to have trouble in, is when it comes to writing a rhetorical essay. I like to read other peoples essays and see what they have written no matter what the topic is about. I feel that me learning more vocabularies this school year has help me a lot in my spelling. I still struggle with my spelling, but its not as bad as it was before I started my AP English course. We have also had class discussions throughout the year on different topics and that has help me to be more confident in my self, to speak up and give my option on what I believe.

My third choice-Texas A&M CORPUS CHRISTI

Highlights: 10,032 total students enrollment
1,415 living on campus
1,978 Graduate students
SAT OR ACT SCORE:have the testing agency send your scores directly to A&M-Corpus Chrisiti CODES:SAT,0366, ACT,4045
fINANCIAL AID:the office of student Financial Assistance works with individual students to identify oppportunies for which the student can apply.

My second choice-UHD-University of Houston Downtown

Freshmen: Applying to UHD is fast and easy with much of the process avaiable online
Transfer: transfer applicants should submit official transcripts from all previously attended colleges and universities to UHD's of Admissions
Application: Documents include official high school transcript with graduation date and passing TAKS scor, application fee, and any other official documents requested by UHD office of Admissions to complete your Admissions application

My three University of choice!!!

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) is limited by the availability of funds and is only awarded to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need. Houston Community College is allocated a limited amount of funding.

Eligibility Requirements

Enrolled at least 6 credit hours.
Pell Grant recipient.
TEACH Grant The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant Program provides up to $4,000 per year in grants for graduate and undergraduate students who intend to teach full time in high need subject areas for at least four years at schools that serve student from low income families. To receive a TEACH Grant you must meet the following criteria:
• Must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• Must be a U. S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• Must be enrolled as an undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate student in a post-secondary educational institution that has chosen to participate in the TEACH Grant Program.
• Must be enrolled in course work that is necessary to begin a career in teaching or plan to complete such, course work
• Must score above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test or maintain a cumulative GPA of at lease 3.25.
• Must complete the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve entrance counseling.

Texas Common Application Essay-Who has made an impact in your life!

I don’t feel it has just been one person who has made an impact in my life. I feel that my teachers, family, my mom, but mainly my cousins have push me to go on with school and my dreams that everything is possible in life. You just need to be willing to work for what you want and work your way up and to not have nobody tell you that you cant. Am still attending high school. Am a junior, and it has not been easy getting to where I’m today. I personally never thought I would of never even make it through my freshmen year. Most of the time I’ve been bad influence either by my friends or in generally people who surround me. I felt like dropping out When I had started high school. I use to think school was useless. There was no point for it. That it was just a waste of time. But their were my cousins always asking me for my report card, making sure I had good grades as well as good conduct. As well as my teachers they kept me going, motivating me to behave good that it was for my own good and no one else. I couldn’t have a D’ in any class because my cousins would start tripping and they would not take me out with them until I would bring up my grade. As ton my mom she would punish me and take my cell phone away, she would not even let me go out side to breath fresh air. My cousins as well as my mom would always be in touch with my teachers making sure I was on track with my grades and assignments that had been given to me. I have always been told until this day, to do my very best in school that one day it will pay off. Before I would just do stuff with out thinking first. But I have learn that you have to think before you act. The decisions you make today will impact your tomorrow. Thanks to my family and teachers for taking the time to teach me and tell me what was right I feel I’m where I stand today. I appreciate everyone that influence me to keep on with school because school means education, and education takes you places!

My Senior Year

Study more
Focus more in school
Keep up with my grades
Take school more seriously
Join the girls soccer team
Join SGA
Get more prepared to go to college
A's and B's in my report card
Have a geat and fun year
No school drama
GO TO PROM!:D!