There I was sitting in my eighth grade graduation ceremony ready to be rewarded for the hard work I had put in throughout the whole year. A year of ups and downs, tears, and the words “I can’t” said many times by my biggest obstacle and enemy myself. They say hard work always pays off, or at least that’s what I thought. The United States is known to be the land of opportunities, and as a person coming from a different country, we all come for a better life and the opportunities that this country has to offer. I came to America thinking to myself I 'm here for a better life and education is the key to a better life. My first year in the United States was rough because it was as if I was starting from zero. But the hardest part was school, I saw myself in many times in situations in which I used to cry because I couldn 't complete an assignment, and times in which I used to write in the top right corner of my assignments “I don’t speak english,” as simple as that but hard as it sounds. Simple because those are easy words to say, but hard because it was one more assignment that I wasn 't able to do and get a grade for and that was disappointing to The day of graduation came and the ceremony was taking place; before diplomas were handed out, awards were given to the students that graduated with honors. My eighth grade year flashed before my yes and I saw the many times I said I couldn 't, and the times I cried but still managed to get honor roll every cycle, so I thought to myself “my name must be in that list.” There in my seat I was hoping to get that crystal clear star with my name on it that said Honor Roll. At twelve years of age graduating from the eighth grade that award was an assurance that I was smart and that I was just as good as everyone else but I had a little extra, and yet again at least that 's what I thought. Name after name was called, my heart was pounding and my hands were sweating eager for my name to be called up to the stage. The last name was called but my name wasn’t, and i didn’t hear my name. I was stunned that I didn 't get any “Honors” at that moment I thought to myself Did I fail this last cycle? Wasn 't I good enough? Did they skip my name? But I looked at the table and not a single star was left
My middle school’s dean smiles while handing me my certificate. I gave her my best fake smile and stood in line with the rest of my classmates who made the honor roll. I put my medal around my neck, held my certificate in my left hand, and put my right arm behind my back. I can’t believe I left my jacket in my mom’s car.
From its founding, America has been portrayed as the land of opportunity. We have been fed this idea of how wonderful it is and even though many have proved how hard it is to make it, many others work hard to keep the idea alive. The fact that we all believe in this idea keeps the idea going; the idea that is America.
Let me first start out by saying that I am a very hard work and I will not let you down. I am very determined and a results driven achiever who loves to learn. With my background in Insurance the past 12 years, I am confident I will be the employee that you are looking for. I am organized and highly motivated, a detail oriented problem solver. I thrive in fast past environment's and work calmly under pressure. I am an exceptional listener and communicator who can effectively convey information verbally and in writing. I have a proven track record of success and I promise you will not regret hiring
I noticed from all the capable people I know that their skills were acquired through hard work, their passion for what they do, and years of experience in their trade or profession. I can 't think of anyone who is born with skills. If you come across people who achieved certain results due to natural ability than hard work, there 's a good chance that hard work has been invested. For example, when I was in school, there were students who seem to breeze through tests and get great results. What a lot of people don 't know is that behind the great results were extra hours spent on self-studying and hours of private tuition that their parents put them through. Another example: when I worked in a research firm, there were people who stood out above others. These were the same people who invested extra time to get their skills right.
Where I am from, coming to America is an unachievable dream for most people; however, that dream became attainable to me one summer. When my father told my family and me that we were moving to America, I was very excited and I thought about a lot of things. I thought about all of the opportunities there were in the U.S. and how rich everyone must be. I also thought that everyone in the U.S. lived in big houses, and every school had a swimming pool. Most of what I conceived about America came from watching television, and a month later I would find out how wrong I was.
Hard work is challenging work. But why does it have to be challenging work? Because challenging work, when intelligently chosen, pays off. It’s the work that people of lesser character will avoid. And if you infer that I’m saying people who avoid challenging work have a character flaw, you’re right… and a serious one at that. If you avoid challenging work, you avoid doing what it takes to succeed. To keep your muscles strong or your mind sharp, you need to challenge them. To do only what’s easy will lead to physical and mental flabbiness and very mediocre results, followed by a great deal of time and effort spent justifying why such flabbiness is OK, instead of stepping up and taking on some real challenges.
During my early education, meaning elementary school and middle school, I was a very average student. I gave an average amount of effort to my grades, and I received above average results. This did not bother me, until the end of my 8th-grade year. At this point in the year, I was filling out what classes I desired to take the following year, my freshman year. I realized that from this point forward, I had to take my education much more serious, in order to get accepted to whichever college I desired. therefore, when planning my classes, I decided to challenge myself more than I ever have in the past, and take multiple honors courses. I assumed because of my grades, that I had what it took to be an honors-level student, but I was very wrong. One teacher, Mrs. Johnson, made me realize the kind of effort, time and energy needed to be devoted to my education.
My story began on a cool summer’s night twenty short years ago. From my earliest memory, I recall my father’s disdain for pursuing education. “Quit school and get a job” was his motto. My mother, in contrast, valued education, but she would never put pressure on anyone: a sixty-five was passing, and there was no motivation to do better. As a child, my uncle was my major role-model. He was a living example of how one could strive for greatness with a proper education and hard work. At this tender age of seven, I knew little about how I would achieve my goals, but I knew that education and hard work were going to be valuable. However, all of my youthful fantasies for broader horizons vanished like smoke when school began.
I come from a line of hard workers. Everything in my family was earned through hard work and if you knew me personally you would see that the core of our beliefs lie in obtaining a strong education. When I was growing up, my parents had emigrated from Jamaica to America for better opportunities. Both my parents grew up impoverished and did not want their children to live like they had. Coming to America was not the easiest thing for them as they had debts up to their noses. Since my father did not go to college, he could not hold down a steady job and worked meager temp jobs that barely paid the bills. My mother then took it upon herself to go to school in her thirties and worked to support and raise her three children. My mother at thirty six years old graduated with her associates and has been a nurse for almost fifteen years.
I knew I had hit rock bottom when I received my grade card and most of my grades where Cs and Ds. I was so disappointed in myself, things were not going the way I had at all imagined. But why was I upset? The grades I received were my choice, I could have gotten As but I lacked enthusiasm greatly. It wasn't until my junior year, which I'm currently in that I set a goal to be the absolute best version of myself. My junior year I realized that I wanted to make a difference in society and the only way to do that was to start with myself. I told my parents that it was time for me to go back to regular school. My parents and I both knew I had been well underperforming in my past years. But instead of hanging on to the past, I’m working to build an even stronger future for myself. My drive begins with accepting my flaws, I will never stop reaching for my
Let’s flash back in time to before our college days. Back to then we had lunch trays filled with rubbery chicken nuggets, stale pizza, and bags of chocolate milk. A backpack stacked with Lisa Frank note books, flexi rulers, and color changing pencils. The times where we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive, but we did. Through all the trials and tribulations school helped build who I am today and shaped my future. From basic functions all the way to life-long lessons that helped shape my character.
Long working hours continue to be one of the largest health concerns in the world. Currently, the world population has become so busy due to the pressure from harsh economic conditions. People are therefore spending long working hours in the workplace, which is an aspect that has negative impact on their health conditions. Statistics from Working Condition Survey indicates that approximately 30% of workers residing in European Union believe that their health is at risk due to the hours they spent in the workplace (Gurung, 2010:16)
When you mention America in my country, Libya, most people think of an opportunity to get a great education. That is why I came to America, to study. My life in America while comfortable, is different compared to Libya, and challenging
In 7th grade I had to get up in front of my class to get, and present a commercial. I was so scared at first because I am a very shy person. It is not easy for me to speak in front a lot of people. As I waited for my turn I felt like I was going to cry. It felt like my stomach was in my throat. In the end I was scared for nothing because when I went up and did really good. The teacher complimented me on my work. After that day I was so proud of myself for conquering my fear. In 8th grade I finally got on the honor roll, again. I was so happy to be on the honor roll, because I hadn’t been on the honor roll in a really long time. seeing all those A’s made me so happy. I felt the same excitement as I felt in kindergarten when I first gotten on the honor
Graduation: the last day that I would unwillingly set foot on the fields of Horizon High School. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, and tried so hard to keep my feet moving one after the other in order to maintain my perfect stature. After the two hour wait of opening speeches, class songs, and the calling off of the five hundred plus names that were in front of me, it was finally my turn. As my row stood up and we walked towards the stage it had set in at last, this is it, I am done. My high school career ended on that night, but it didn’t close the book that is my life, it only started a new chapter, and with it came a whole slue of uncertainties.