QUYEN 'S SPACE

      Talking about my evolution as a reader and writer, I can see myself improving plenty from three years ago when I first got acquainted with reading and writing in English. Three years ago, my family and I moved to the United States with the hope of getting more opportunities and better education. However, my life has completely changed since I got there, and things have not turned out the way I thought. The first couple of years when I moved to the United States, I faced many difficulties fitting into the culture, worrying about my finances, and getting along with the environment around me. I also got stuck with my education path, particularly learning English, since I knew nothing about this new language and Vietnamese was the only language I could speak. At that time, I barely talked to everyone, and I was very bashful to make new friends at school. Due to the language barrier, I often felt like I was an outsider, especially when it came to reading and writing in class since I didn't have such basic skills in the language.

      I remember once when I was a freshman and was in my English class, I was requested to read a book whose Lexile level was much higher than my level since I was just a new English learner. At that moment, if my classmates spent 30 minutes reading one chapter, then I had to spend 3 hours or more reading it. Trying to read and learn to move at the same pace as my classmates made me feel like a failure and an outsider in class. I think it's not only me thinking that way, but everyone who was in that situation– where you tried your best to reach an accomplishment in one subject, but everything did not go as you expected- will understand. 

      However, fortunately, my English teacher noticed that I could not keep up the same pace with my classmates, so she asked if she could help. She helped me a lot by allowing me to read a book that was suitable for my level, and I could write about a topic that I am interested in instead of writing about an uninteresting topic. She understood my difficulty and allowed me to have more time to get used to the learning environment in class. No matter when I had an assignment on reading and writing, she always encouraged me by telling me the improvements that I made in reading and writing and gave me a lot of helpful advice. Her encouragement and understanding made me feel like I was an insider of the class. In addition, my family, especially my mom, supported me a lot to make me feel like an insider. My mom understood my difficulties and was there helping me and motivating me to improve my skills at reading and writing every day. 

      Thankfully, I surpassed my obstacles in reading and writing due to my hard-working personality, and I refused to let this defeat me. My improvement in English helped me to gain the skills needed as a reader and writer. Even though my English is not very good, it has significantly improved. Although I haven't reached the master's level, I'm still able to communicate and help people in need who don't understand this language.

      From my personal experience, I can strongly connect my reading and writing history with the "Insiders and Outsiders" text. I can clearly understand what it feels like to be an outsider and the difficulties of being an outsider from the text. From the text "Insiders and Outsiders," I understand that being an outsider is not a negative thing since we will have the opportunity to observe and analyze situations and relationships effortlessly. However, I also understand that engaging in education as an insider leads to more opportunities. The biggest lesson that I learned through my experience is that don't let the feeling of being a failure and an outsider hold you back from becoming your best! Any mistakes and difficulties that you have been going through in your life will make you braver and better.