Like Tara, many kids grow up having a rough time knowing the best side of what life can give.  In Chapter one, there is a long description of how her life was a child and a flashback of an event that has marked her life, the way she thinks, acts, and most of all, the memories or cinematic version as she calls it.  Keeping it short, there is a story that was told to her and her siblings by her dad that haunts her a bit and scares her of upcoming events that might occur.  Memories can impact in both a negative and positive way. 

“Mine has crickets.  That’s the sound I hear as my family huddles in the kitchen, lights off, hiding from the Feds who’ve surrounded the house.”  Crickets are the symbol.  Why could it be that crickets have a meaning in this scene?  They symbolize her family, running through the house, hiding from the feds who are in search of the families that have kids not attending a public school and are staying home.  Taking her family as the main example, her father doesn’t agree with sending his kids to a public school, instead he prefers they stay home and reading the bible as often as possible.  His way of thinking and seeing life has affected his kids learning abilities.

Tara’s father built their house in the mountain area. Where they were located, the school bus never stopped by. Her dad either way did not believe in education and had clear that he could teach his kids more than a teacher would.  Tara and her siblings grew up helping their parents collect herbs for any medical purpose and salvage metal.  These kids were treated poorly by many because of their living conditions and because of their isolation in the small town of Idaho.  Westover’s older brother left home and went to college to pursue his goals and dreams on his own.  Later, convincing Tara to do so as well.  Their grandmother from their father side had always pushed her son to get her grandkids in school and that would always lead to many arguments between her and her son because of disagreements they would have with their beliefs.  Tara later starts her journey as an individual teen with no support or comfort from anyone to lean on when times would get rough on her on.  She pushes herself to work extra on learning about many world events that had never been mentioned or spoken about to her.  The ACT was a step ahead that she felt confident about and decided to take.  Her results came back very well! 

Tara had many issues that could have held her back from accomplishing her goals, such as students making fun of her lack of knowledge and calling her names, but her professors helped her stay strong.  Because of her success, she continued her education at Harvard and later at Cambridge University.  The way she saw life was like a war.  Split sides battling, both have their pros and cons, both making her feel complete, both showing some type of love and care, both having a big picture of a great future.  As a young girl, education is the only way to proceed into having a good future as an independent woman.  Not many think of their family when it comes to them deciding what to do with their future, but Tara cared.  She cared enough to chose education over her family because she knew that education would lead her to having what she needed in order to keep herself and her family safe and with less worries. 

In this type of situation, what would you do, or who would you chose?  Would you continue your education?  Would you choose your families ideas on not getting an education ever and risking your own life and dreams?  It is a tough decision for such a young girl to make.  Religiously, your family comes before anything else, but how can you take care of your family and make enough to support them without any type of education?  As Soloman Ortiz once quoted, “Education is the key to success” and her choosing it was the best for her. 

Ezequiel Figueroa (December, 3, 1999) I am from Puerto Rico. In 2017 my family decide move to North Carolina because in Puerto Rico we had many needs with regard to the economy. Many people often move from their country to another one with the same situation. From a young age I dreamed of seeing all of the things in person that I would see in movies about the United States, kind of like snow. Puerto Rico is tropical and moist most of the year. That is why I have always wanted to travel here and feel the cold weather. Over the years, my parents have been with me through thick and thin, they have given me the best they can in order for me to continue having a great education for my future. I have siblings that live here with me, one brother and two sisters. My oldest sister passed away two years from a car accident, and that is the main reason my whole family moved here. We all spent many months with depression because we lost someone very important who always brought happiness into our home. We had previously came when she passed away and stayed only five days for her funeral. We went back to Puerto Rico, realized we wanted to move and ended up coming back a couple of weeks later. We came back for my nephews who were very close to us. We knew it would be hard to leave them without their mom and especially not having the rest of their family with them. Being here we came across many new opportunities such as a job, being able to join the Basketball team for my high school, and best of all a better education for my sister and I. With English being a struggle for me, the first few months were very stressful, I would challenge myself daily to get better with the language.

I live a very humble life, I know what it is like to have and not to have everything you need and want. In Puerto Rico we experienced many hurricanes that destroyed many parts of our house. We have lost many things due to this weather issues. It is very sad to experience and watch your belongings get lost and destroyed as well as loosing people that you really care for

Basketball for me is called “Therapy” because I always have a lot on my mind and when I go to practice I forget everything negative. Since I was little I looked at this sport as very physical and maybe a little stressful but it was the opposite. I love listening to music before starting my workouts because it motivated me even more to have a good time, even being alone or with company. I see the world around me like a basketball game.

Every time I have a match I focus on helping my team as much as on defense and offensive. I prefer the defensive side since the offensive is not always effective. I love being the player who supports the team and inspire people.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

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