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After reading the task for this assignment, for some reason I immediately thought of the time I was in first grade and my teacher had asked us to pick out a book from the bookshelf, find a place to sit and read it to ourselves. As a first grade ESL (English as a Second Language) and Bilingual student, I did not understand what exactly she wanted us to do with the book. I remember looking at the letters wondering what on earth this could possibly mean. Another memory that popped into my head was how later on during that same year, my first grade teacher would give each of us personal attention on learning how to read, that when my turn came up I remember feeling how frustrated I was because I didn’t know what to do, as in is there a trick we need to learn in order to read?

When sharing with my group this piece of my journal entry I started realizing that my frustration with learning how to read had to do with more than just reading but trying to learn and adjust using a second language, a second culture. As I discussed with my group about this, I remembered how later on that same year in first grade how my class was going to perform Peter Pan and I was given a minor role. I couldn't help but think, why was I given such a minor role? And then I realized, maybe it was because my reading proficiency wasn't up to par with the rest of my peers. If I wanted to be equally proficient with the rest of my peers, I knew that obtaining proficiency in this second language would ensure not only acceptance but survival as well.