Exavier Castro
Dr. Kendall Smith
English 1A
September 19, 2018
Reclaiming Our Education
Many people have told me that I’m not smart enough or will never be able to make my
dreams a reality. In the book “Rios, Victor. Street Life: Poverty, Gangs, and a Ph.D. Five Rivers
Press: 2011. Print,” by Rio Victor many people didn’t believe in him, that he was good for
nothing, but with hard work and focus he turned it all around. We can all feel sorry for ourselves
but if we don’t change anything we can never succeed. Many people get put down by things that
people say and go down a path of being unproductive and not doing the right thing, but it’s never
to late.
The obstacle I’ve dealt with early on in my education was that the school wanted and did
put me in special education in seventh and eighth grade. Due to me not learning as quickly as
many other students. During this time of my life I wasn’t happy that they put me in that class, but
it made me more determine to work harder to get out. I feel like this was the decision that really
affected me in overall my high school experience and now. Me and Rio have many differences
but we do have similarities that we both overcame obstacles that changed our lives and made us
a better person. In Rio‘s life he became a gang member and went down a bad path of people not
believing him and In ways people didn’t believe in me but we both succeeded and got past a bad
ESSAY 1 CASTRO!1
time in our lives. This decision only made me more determined do you get out of the class and
show people that I am capable of doing big things and succeeding in my dreams.
Words are powerful, many people have said that I would never succeed and that I’m not
smart and really doubted me and it really took a toll on me. I’ve became depressed in freshman
year and it was really hard to focus on my school so I would not do anything or any class work
for freshman year all the way to the beginning of junior year. This then made me a pretty bad
student with not passing many of my classes and many teachers didn’t want to help me because
they already had an opinion about me and that I wouldn’t be able to fix it. Like me and Rio, Rio
had a teacher believe in him and helped him become a better student and work non stop with me
it was kinda the same. I joined A.V.I.D (Advancement Via Individual Determination). My
teacher she showed me that I can go to college and become a better person and not to listen to
what people think about me. I do believe that everyone is able to succeed but with hard work and
dedication.
In "Brainology: Transforming Students' Motivation to Learn,” by Dweck, Carol, a fixed
mindset, people believe that their qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits.
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