2019 Essay Winners

Work in Progress by Anays Aguilar

My Name is Anays Aguilar and I’m from Venezuela. I went to elementary school, high school and University in Venezuela, and I have an Associate’s degree in Customs Broker for importation and exportation of merchandise since 2007. I worked for eight years for the same company and I loved to work for this company. They were always training us to grow as a company and as individuals. I had been working in handling and preparing international transport documents, and coordination of transportation logistics, including storage and classification of merchandise according to internal laws and customer requirements.

I had a good salary, my own vehicle, and could live in a stable way, until suddenly there was a social and political outbreak in Venezuela that had been growing for several years and caused little by little many Venezuelans to emigrate. So far there are 4 million Venezuelan migrants around the world. In my case, it happened at the beginning of 2016 and fortunately someone very close to me who had already been here in the United States for 17 years gave me a hand. At first, it was a bit difficult for me to live in a country where English is spoken when my native language is Spanish.

 I had many limitations, such as interacting with people or getting a job. It was like starting from scratch, none of the experience I had had in Venezuela and what I had achieved had value. I became a totally introverted person, full of fears for not knowing how to communicate. Now I belong to the Palm Harbor Library community, I have an amazing tutor. She has shown interest and effort in teaching me. We have been doing exercises, readings and free conversations that have managed to improve my performance in daily life and work. My current job is in an ice cream shop serving the public and my regular customers have noticed that change in me. We have also focused on polishing my skills and helping me to lose the fear of making mistakes. Although I know that I have a long way to go I feel that every day I get a little closer to my goals. The United States for me is a country full of opportunities for those who know how to take advantage of it, with programs and institutions that support people with different cases. I hope to conquer the English language to continue reaching my dreams in this beautiful country that has given me shelter.

Going Places With Literacy by Birong Zheng

My name is Birong Zheng; I am from China. I came to United States in 2001 when I was nineteen. I met my husband in Florida; we married. We have two boys. One is thirteen years old, he is in the middle school. The other is ten years old, he is in the elementary school. We run a small Chinese take- out restaurant in Palm Harbor since 2006. My husband and I work very hard; we work a lot hours to raise our family.

 I always wanted to go back to school. My dream is to speak fluent English. After research I found out that the library has tutors who can help me. Lucky I met my teacher Maryann Todd. After few times meeting, Maryann knew my learning level. According to that, we borrowed study books from the library to teach me basic grammar, reading, and pronunciation. Every time we meet, we always talk about what happened in the last week. Maryann listens to me and corrects me. I always have homework after we meet. A lot of time Maryann let me write a piece of essay about the book we just study and what I thought.

 She teaches me a lot. Little by little, she helps me improve my English in reading, writing and speaking. Maryann is a very nice person, she’s not just my teacher, she is my friend and mentor in my life. Every time I have any problem she always helps me to analyze it and give me suggestions. I hope one day I could go back to school and finish my college degree. Then I can find a better job and spend more time with my family.

A rugged sunny road by Jianjun Oosse

My name is Jianjun Oosse. I'm 65 years old this year. I came to the United States from China in 2014. This situation means that I stepped into a difficult road to learn English. I talked like this because of my age and my language. Everyone knows that Chinese is square chinese character, and English is a alphabetic writing. These are two complete different forms of the languages. I've never spoken English before, but now I have to adapt to everything here, Because I've come here, and have to live here. so everyday in here is a serious challenge for me, Every day I'm trying to climb the peak of English learning since I coming here.

After I came here, I quickly found the Palm Harbor Community School and stayed there until now. No matter the wind or rain, I insisted on attendance, Therefore I was always awarded a prize for perfect attendance . All teachers in the school knew me, and I have become an old old student who can't graduate forever. Because I understand deeply that my duty is not only to complete several exams and several textbooks in the school, but a language's adaptability - being able to understand native speakers.

 In 2017, I took the driver's license exam. The test is conducted at DMV. It is required to complete a certain number of correct answers within a certain period of time to pass. There is no dictionary, no interpreter. It relies entirely on an individual to complete independently in front of the computer . This means I must have good reading skills. The test claim for a quick reading and making a correct judgment during the exam. When I got the study booklet, I figured out what they mean, word by word, sentence by sentence, and paragraph by paragraph. Wrote the new words on the index card. Read and recite repeatedly. I also practiced a large amount of simulation exam questions online. "Hard work pays off." I succeeded! When I got my driver's license, I'm able to proudly declare to everyone : I've passed my reading difficulty.

 Even more surprising is this year, 2019, I participated in and passed the USCIS Naturalization interview and test. To became officially an U.S. citizen. Recalling the experience before the exam is really like a dream. Everyone knows that the Naturalization interview requires person to understand 100 questions about American history and civics. But this is only a small part of the interview. I can master it quickly through learning. Most parts of the interviews are conducted by the examiner random strain ask questions about the information you provided in the form N-400. The range of such an interview is large and flexible. It is inconvenient to learn by rote. This means that you must have better listening skills. My God! My worst thing is listening. How to do this? But it’s hard anymore and I have to do it. So I listened to the video material repeatedly. I understand it first, then I wrote down the entire sentences of the audio, and simulated the rhythm and tone of the host to read it every day. In this way, my listening has raised a step. This led me to understand and accurately answered the examiner's questions during the interview. When the examiner told me the results of the passage, I couldn't believe it. I asked back, " did i really pass?" When the examiner confirmed it again, I stood up excitedly and held his hand and said, "Thank God, thank you!" Of course, I can achieve this little success. First of all, I would like to thank all the teachers who coached me, Barbara, Denise and Honey .Their credit is indispensable.“ Once a teacher, always a father. " I'll remember forever the hard work of the teachers.

 The famous Russian writer, Gorky, said: " One should spend his life in this way, when he thought about his past he isn't regretful for wasting time, he isn't a shamed for doing nothing." Looking back at the United States for more than four years, I cultivate every day, and harvest every day. Although my English listening is not still well now, but I firmly believe that: Over time, my dream necessarily will come true, I'm sure that I necessarily will speak fluently in English.