Personal Narrative Essay On Pursuing The American Dream

In 2006 I moved to California with my parents, to pursue the American Dream that was dreamed by every foreigner It was seen as a great way to escape the danger and poverty we faced everyday in Peru. When we finally got here, the american dream was a myth, and working hard barely got you anywhere. Since day 1 both my parents have worked more than 40 hours a week to get food on the table, and the table back in Peru. They both support their parents and siblings financially, meaning there is no aid for me here. I wake up to do everything by myself, cook, clean, go to school, and especially homework. The workload from school kept getting harder each year, and it got worse during the start of high school. When I first arrived back from my first day of 9th grade I had to annotate a poem written by Shakespeare. As I sat down to do the homework I realized I didn't know what annotating meant. I asked my parents for help and they didn’t even knew who Shakespeare was. The same routine happened everyday, it's even happening now as I ask for advice on how to apply for college. No answer.

I was filling out the online sign up course for my 11th grade classes, and I didn't know what to choose. My peers talked about taking the
challenging classes such as AP and Honors, because it would look great for college applications. Except, I had no clue what an AP course was or how it could help me. There was no one to ask, not even my own parents. I asked for my counselor and her response was “Your PSAT scores show that you aren't capable of handling the material provided by AP classes, don't take them”. Then I asked friends, “Dont take it, you aren't obviously ready”. Then I asked teachers “Based on your grades you aren't college bound, don't take them”.I felt stupid, and dropped everything I was doing. What was the point of continuing to study if everyone around me said I wasnt smart.

Mid-junior year the level of going to college dropped at an all time low.
I believe that giving up was the easiest thing in the world. My grades where low, and It was too late to turn back and fix them. By the time March arrived, everyone was cramming in all the knowledge for their AP test. From getting tutors to pulling all nighters to learn a month's worth of materials. Thats when I came across the idea of taking the AP Spanish test. I was born in Peru, and only talked spanish at home. Who can stop me from taking the test? Everyone. People told me that it didn't matter if I was a native speaker, my grades and knowledge showed the little potential I had. They even tried to stop me from wasting the resources available and stop me from taking the
test.

I seeked help from my spanish teacher, and she gladly gave me a pep talk and said I didn't need studying, I was a bright person who is able to manage the workload. I still wanted to take a look at the practice workbooks. When I opened the book, it seemed complicated to compare a spanish speaking culture to my community in 2 minutes. Or writing on a topic that could range from horseback riding to political views. This still didn't stop me. I practice for about 2 weeks by myself before the test day came, and knew it was now or never.
Test day came, I showed up with a positive mind and ended with a defeated. I was scared that they were right. I didn't have the AP potential, my scores showed and so did my grades. Maybe everyone was right, I’m not smart enough.

Summer came and the test scores were posted i didn't want to look. I was too sacred that they were are right. i turned on my outdated iPhone 4, and waited. my slow internet connection made me even more anxious to type in my college board account. A message popped up, congratulating me on taking the test. I thought it was a way of them telling me “you tried, but you failed”. the page finally loaded, and my Spanish Language and Culture scored appeared on the small cracked bright screen. I scored a 5. I didn't know what that meant, and clicked the button that said “understanding your score”. A score of 5 meant Extremely well qualified. I scored a 5. The highest score possible in the AP exams. I screamed out of joy, and told my parents. To which they said “Y por que no 100?” (Why not 100?). They didn't understand the concept of an AP test, or what it meant to colleges. Scoring a 5 on an AP exam made me have more confidence in my route to college. I was told by so many teachers, counselors and my peers that I wasnt ready for anything, especially a rigours course. Their doubt and negatives made me want to meet higher goals than what I could do. I regret giving up because other told me too. I nw know I am capable of pursuing my dreams, be the first in my family to go on and my make parents proud, even if everyone is trying to stop me.