Introduction – How do I learn?

II. I learn by making mistakes and correcting them.

A. When I came to America, I was scared to speak English because I didn’t want to make any mistakes in pronunciation.

1. At one point I was tired of being quiet, so I decided to start speaking English even though I wasn’t the best at it.

B. Instead of shutting myself down after a single mistake I learned to move on and just try to improve instead.

I. Every time I make a mistake now in any aspect of life I try to move on and fix it instead of just giving up.

III. Another Way I Learn is by taking advice from my mother.

A. I take advice from my mom on almost everything but one of the latest ones is when I was making my decision to commit to college.

1. I committed to CCNY even though I almost committed to a more expensive school upstate.

B. Sometimes parents know better what’s best for us because after I visited the other college, I realized that CCNY was in fact the perfect choice for me.

1. Sometimes its good to take advice because I don’t always know what is truly good for me, especially because I might rush into decisions.

IV. A Third Way That I Learn is through hardship.

A. Last October I tore my ACL, and I stayed home for over 3 months recovering from it. This injury was a result of a car accident and lead to a slight state of depression.

1. During the first month I was home doing nothing but staying in my room. I wasn’t talking to my friends, family I just stayed isolated from the world and the only time I would go out was when I had to go to physical therapy. My mom tried her best to help me, but I refused to let anyone in until I couldn’t hold it anymore and I did. I finally shared with my mom the fact that I was hurt not only physically but that car accident hurt me mentally too. I let everything out and for the first time in a while I felt…light.

B. It’s not good to bottle up emotions.

I. In life we go through a lot of hardships, and we have all kinds of emotions. I have learned that it is not good to bottle them up and it is very important to have someone trusted to talk to.

II. Conclusion – What does this all teach me about me?

All this taught me that I can learn lessons in different ways whether if it’s learning from my or other people’s mistakes, asking for help or having to go through a hard time. What is important is the fact that out of all these experiences I took out a lesson that applies in many aspects of my life.