Calderon 1
Rose Calderon
Ms. Cabral
ENGL&101.V2
August 18th, 2021
Autobiographical Language Narrative
Adjusting to becoming an “American”
Seeing how people of color or immigrants have given speeches about getting mistreated
throughout their lives in America, makes me realize the power American societies think they have over
someone. Hearing out their stories and taking into consideration of how I may get treated for being
Hispanic, scared me so much while growing up. I still remember getting put down by teachers because I
couldn’t pronounce some words nor speak without an accent. Never did I think that American societies
would be mistreating me at such a young age. I didn’t realize it as a kid, but I do now. Coming from two
teen parents, who grew up in Mexico, they were learning and experiencing the power American
societies think they have over others who are different.
Living here in Washington state my whole life, I’ve definitely have seen societies change the way
they handle situations with people of color or immigrants. Coming from a household where Spanish was
the only spoken language, I definitely had to work hard to learn English so I could succeed. When I
entered preschool, the first thing the teachers wanted to change about me, was to speak more English.
Luckily my grandparents were already learning English to get better jobs, they were able to help me
learn as well so I would at least be able to conversate with my classmates and teachers. I knew there
could be something more I could do to learn English faster, so I decided to start watching my movies and
shows in English. Everyday my teachers would always compliment me and say “keep up the good work
Rose, you’re English is getting so much better!”, and that would motivate me so much more to try to
learn new words so I could keep impressing them.
Calderon 2
Getting into elementary school, there were a few days where the teachers would test our reading
skills and this terrified me so much. After my first time doing it, I was so upset with myself because I
could even finish a page without stuttering or struggling on a word. This is where my fear to read and
speak in front of big groups of people, because I was afraid to mess up on multiple words. I didn’t want
to look bad in front of my classmates and I didn’t want my teacher to think of me any less than my
classmates. Math became my best skill in school, because there was never a moment where I wanted to
share my reading or answers for anything. So when it came to student led conferences, I never went
because my mom was always working and I would never tell her when they were either. This made me
get upset since my work would go unnoticed, but I knew that my mother would end up seeing me get a
reward. Every time I would get a certificate for something, I’d always make sure I’d put it in a folder so
when I’d get home I could put it on the kitchen table for everyone at home to see. That’s when I would
