Prizes!!!

   Hola my peeps!!! 

  I want to talk and share a little bit more of my amazing life. I have been a student since I was 5 years old, and at the age of 28 - I am still a student (college student). 

   Ironically, I remember I hated school as a kid because I was bullied by the kids since I was a burn survivor and English was my second language, so academics was a real struggle for me. After 2nd grade, I had a 360 degree change in attitude and perception of school. My angel aka my mommy, grew up in the rural area with barely any education; therefore, she was obligated to become a housekeeper since she was only 12 years old. Her whole life depended on people allowing her to be their stay at home maid. 

    My angel instilled in me and my siblings, that education was the only way out of poverty and out of living a miserable lifestyle. A life filled with abuse and humiliation by the employers and men she dated. So, as I began to mature around the age of 9 I realized she was absolutely right, and after I began to discover all the suffering she had been through in her life: I felt the obligation of doing better than she did and becoming an A student was my new motto. 

    I won my first academic award at the age of 9 or 10 when I was selected as the best student of the year for my third grade class back in Colombia. (Which really speaks volumes, because unlike the American mediocrity praising system - I had to actually work my butt off to be excellent.) It was amazing to hear my name called out to receive the certificate for best student of the year. I went on to come back to the states as a 4th grader in Yates Elementary. I was placed in ESOL class for about 2 months to regain my English skills. Once 5th grade started, I was back on tract and I won several certificates of excellency for various subjects. 

    My very 1st trophy was awarded in middle school. I was unaware that there was an award ceremony held every year for each grade. I was provided with an invitation and I felt like I was attending the Grammy awards on the red carpet or something along those lines. I thought surely I will only receive a diploma. To my amazement, I was awarded the Science Trophy for Best Science Student for all of my 6th grade team ( a class of about 300). I was so happy and grateful to have won something for the very 1st time that came in the shape of a trophy. I wore a pink dress and had braces on too. I'll upload the picture later on. 

     To make my middle school experience even that much more exciting: after having been upgraded from 7th grade to 8th grade within the same year I was invited to the awards ceremony for the 2nd time. I won 2 prizes that year: a certificate for best 5th period math student and I was nominated to the Benito Cup award that recognized the best student out of all the 8th graders and received a medal. 

    Overall, I have had a great career in my academia since I made the decision to make a difference in my life and for my mom. I wanted to make her proud and show her all her sacrifices were not made in vain for me and my siblings. Fast-forwarding to today, I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from USF with a membership to an honor society. I already know the moment I graduated from High School with Honors - my mother was very proud of me and when I became a professional too. Education is the key to success in my eyes and it has been the driving force for me to live a happy and fulfilling life. There are a lot more details I can elaborate on in relation to my academic achievements, but I will relay those in  my upcoming autobiography. 

Till next time chao chao,

xoxoxoxoxoxo, 


Ana :)