Literary Arts Magazine Spring 2013 | Page 53

Essay Contest Winners er!! inn ll W vera O In Control of My Faith By Alba Escobar When a child doesn’t have any authority, people immediately infer that the child won’t succeed in life. One of the most important decisions that I had taken in life is to follow the path of education. I was seven years old when my parents immigrated to the United States, after this even I could mostly follow any direction because I felt alone. Without anyone to guide or advise me, I felt lost on a rainy night. I knew some kids from the barrio who started hanging out with members of the gangs; I remember some people from my family said, “She would become a gang member, too.” I stil remember those words of hate. I also had the choice of fooling around, but I’m glad I didn’t. I never stopped going to school. As a little girl, I started to focus more on my education. Before that decision I didn’t know how to read. I learned how to read when I was in 4th grade, thanks to a friend who taught me. Today education is still a priority in my life. I’m proud of myself for not becoming the person people were expecting me to become. Now that I live in the US, I’m aware that to further my education I need to be fluent in English and that is why I made the decision of attending Carlos Rosario before going to college. Teacher: Holland, AM, Level 8 53