What I Learned From My Life

“What I Learned as a Kid in Jail” is a speech given at a TEDTalk convention to a group of young men and women delivered by Ismael Nazario, a prison reform advocate where he does work for The Fortune Society, a non profit organization. Nazario was arrested when he was just under eighteen for robbery and sent directly to Rikers Island where he spent 300 days in solitary confinement, before ever being convicted of the crime. Nazario’s goal in delivering his speech to a group of younger men and women is to make them aware of the way correctional officers treat younger inmates and how inmates should be spending their time doing productive activities and understanding they do not have to go back to the life they were living. Nazario accomplished this goal by sharing personal stories from his past experiences.

I can remember sitting in class, feeling eyes burning through me, dodging inquisitive glances from all sides, and anxiously awaiting the bell to ring for lunchtime. As most people know, lunch is the most dreaded part of the first day at a new school. First day of school memories are still fairly vivid for me; my father was in the JAG corps in the Army and my family moved with biannual regularity. In fact, I even attended three different high schools. While this may seem highly undesirable to some, I learned an incredible amount about myself, the world, and other people through moving that I may never have learned otherwise. What I have learned about myself and the world will without a doubt contribute to my success in life and even law

My parents immigrated to the United States at a very young age. Having no higher education than elementary school, the only jobs they could find were working in the orchards. They would pick and thin apples during the summers, and prune trees during the cold winters. As soon as I was of working age, I would go out into the fields with them from early sunrise until the intense heat scorched our necks and faces. At a young age, I learned the harsh reality of what the daily life of an immigrant is. The long hours of hard work in the unforgiving heat of the sun; all for the low wages they were paid. These experiences in the orchard instilled in me a sense of drive to further my education and work hard to help families that were at a disadvantage as

As a first-generation Mexican American, I am the product of two cultures merged into one. Like many immigrants, my parents left behind their homeland and came with just the clothes on their back. They were fish out of water when they first arrived in America. They came here with hopes of pursuing the American Dream but soon realized that they weren't going to be the ones to achieve the American Dream. They worked hard so that my younger brother and I could have a shot at it. So they’ve educated us and passed the Dream along to us. The hardships experienced by my parents have inspired me to take on my own challenges. Because of the sacrifices my parents made, I am where I am today. It's an unspoken responsibility that one day I will give back to those who gave me so much.

Throughout high school, I have worked two jobs that have been very different from each other. Both of these jobs pushed me to become a stronger person, and I am thankful for the opportunities they presented me with. My first job was at Richards Family Restaurant where I washed dishes, cooked, and bussed tables. This job experience helped prepare me for college because it put me out of my comfort zone. I had to walk around in a busy restaurant cleaning up tables and helping customers while also coordinating with other employees. In addition to this, I worked under a lot of pressure while cooking and washing dishes. It made me perform at my best while also doing so quickly, and I believe that this experience will help me in college. My second

My parents are Hmong refugees that immigrated to the United States after the Vietnam War in the 1970s in search of a better life. In their eyes, America is the land of the free and where dreams can become reality. In Laos, my parents lived an agrarian lifestyle with very little education. Despite their lack of education, they realized that education held the key to success. Throughout my life, my parents emphasized the importance of education and did their best to guide my siblings and me. This was not an easy task for my parents because of the cultural adjustment that they experienced, but they managed to instill in me invaluable character qualities such as patience, perseverance, hard work, sacrifice and courage. I am the third youngest out of twelve children, and I will be the first to receive a Graduates degree.

Sometimes life lessons are learned the hard way. Unfortunately for me, this is how I learned mine. I do not mean to make this sad and depressing, but this is the truth.

Personal accounts from immigrants preserving through the endless hardships are the living proof that the American Dream is achievable. Their accounts prove that the dream is only achieved because of the toil throughout the immigrants’ lives. Richard Todd describes “a man who embodies American opportunity” (90). This man immigrated from Korea to start his own software company in America. Todd describes his meeting with the Korean immigrant who had recently made the business a publicly traded company. The enthusiasm of the immigrant accurately conveys the dedication he has toward his ultimate goals (Todd 90). The Korean man was able to be successful due to his extensive work in the field of technology. He lives the American Dream of beginning with nothing rising up in the ranks of

I choose this prompt because it looked as it was the best of the prompts fitting to me. I myself come from several different backgrounds, I also carry a lot of different talents. People like those are very unique and are very productive in diverse community, and they turn to be very productive and effective individuals in their community. The past autumn I applied to the University of Washington, which is one of the high ranking schools in the nation, so I applied to all of their 3 branches, Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma, hoping with my different unique talents and personality I will be accepted and be offered admission to one of the 3 branches. Several months later I am here talking to you, that optimism I had has become a reality, I’ve got accepted into University of Washington Tacoma and I am still hoping I will also get accept into the Bothell branch as well. Being born in Seattle, growing up here and at the same coming from both an African and Arab background is pretty unique, on the other hand being a Muslim and a practicing religious Muslim, was also something fascinating, living in America in this time, where Islamphobia was at its peak. In addition to that, being an individual who is deeply involved in the community, specifically youth affairs at a young age of 17 was very productive I can say. Summing all those qualities and talents, I told myself this will help me achieve a lot of things in the future, being a personally diverse individuals who is both academically and spiritually active and built, and in addition to the a productive young individual for the community was indeed something unique and attractive to schools and jobs in the future.

Growing up as an immigrant I view the world in a much more different light than most people do. Whenever an opportunity presents itself to me I am willing to put in the effort if I know it will better my life. This trait of resourcefulness originates from my family who, over the years have created a life for themselves out of virtually nothing. I moved to America at the young age of two years old with my father. Though he didn’t have much to begin with, my father decided to move to this country in hopes to lead a better life and follow on the path of the American dream. I vividly recall being in the backseat of our car while my father trained me on the importance of remaining perceptive and hardworking in school and abroad, I remember he would

After arriving in the United States, things weren’t as wonderful as we had planned for. Coming to such a unique place in the world was a blessing, but it brought many obstacles to me and my family. It was truly one of the greatest obstacles I had to face learning a new language and getting used to the American life. Getting placed into the ELL program made me feel like I had to work harder than everyone else just to get simple things done. I was made fun of due to the lack of my abilities in speaking English. This only pushed me to work harder and become the best that I can be in everything I do. One thing that stayed the same was the level of support my family members here in the U.S. were able to provide me with to help me get through the

Ideally, immigration to America has been noted as a step in the right direction for several years. The concept of the “American Dream” has been one of the main reasons behind immigrants choosing to leave their hometown and in other cases, changes in government and enslavement has led immigrants to the States. It is no wonder why they fight through battles most would have never known existed. Asian American Thuy Lee, is daughter to immigrant parents who escaped Vietnam during the communist takeover. Her story in particular, was a very detailed experience with words that helped me perfectly envision her family’s hardships on

I am a first generation Chinese American and to go to college. My parents immigrated here from Vietnam for my brother and I, they both came here working low wage jobs with very little school education. Back in Vietnam, when education wasn’t accessible to everyone, my dad dropped out of school in fifth grade and my mom dropped out in ninth to work for the family. Because they weren’t able to achieve the American dream for themselves, they decided to give my brother and I the best chance to have it for ourselves.

Carrie Shearer ’15 credits the unique range of experiences she had at Saint Joseph’s with helping prepare her for a smooth transition to a top university. “Being a member of the first four-year graduating class at Saint Joe’s was an experience that has changed my life forever,” said Shearer. “It was always an adventure and, more importantly, a privilege to constantly be developing and fostering new aspects of the Saint Joe’s identity, which will last for years to

Throughout our life we will always meet many people that teach us major life lessons,