From The Barrio To The Academy Summary

While reading From the Barrio to the Academy, by Laura Rendon, I made a couple of connections between my journey and that of the author. The first common parallel was about how we had to separate ties with the past to be successful. I’m not really fluent in my language, Vietnamese. I knew way more Vietnamese words when I was a child. While growing up, I kept on learning and practicing English, but I never really practice Vietnamese. I cannot have full on conversations with my grandma or Dad anymore, which is disheartening. My parents always wanted us, their children, to have a better life than they did. They always joked around and talked about how we were going to take care of them when we receive a job.
When I first started college in August, I developed some expectations that have been met, but also, have not been met. I heard college was difficult and you have to study to succeed. My expectation was about how I thought college would be a walk in the park because high school was roughly easy for me. I was totally wrong. The exams were not knowledge that I could just listen to during lectures. I actually had to study from the textbooks, review notes,
First off, I really am glad I went to a university instead of a community college. It was the best decision I made because I really love it here at Iowa State. I did not think I was this way, but I like meeting new people and building a friendship. Sometimes, I don’t even want to go back home because I rather be at Iowa State. I have to go home to see my grandma though because I know she misses me. Of course, I do miss all of my friends back home. College is extremely stressful. I am always staying up late, either to study or finish my assignments. At the beginning, I was so discouraged because I failed my first exam. I never failed a test before and I was mad at myself. It gave me motivation to do better, and I have not failed any exams so