I was born in Germany, so growing up I naturally learned how to read, write, and speak German.

My earliest memory of being able to successfully read was when I was around three years old. I was
sitting on the couch in the corner of my living room. My mother and I would sit in the middle of the
couch and she would read stories to me. At this specific time, we were working our way through a book
series called The Magic Treehouse. From time-to-time I would try to read on my own, but my mother
would have to guide my reading. However, this one day I took control. I remember completing an entire
sentence without needing any of her guidance. I beamed up a grin a her, proud of myself. Then I read
another and another. It was official, I was reading all on my own. Unfortunately for me, that was not the
only time I was going to have to learn to read.
When I was seven years old, my family received the news that would be moving the United
States of America. The company my father worked for was creating a new branch in North Carolina, and
they wanted him to oversee the progress. This meant my family would be uprooted, and we would be
emerged in a new country, a new culture, and the most difficult part was a new language. My family had
some exposure to the English language. My mother was born and raised in Connecticut, so she would
speak English to us growing up, and we would respond to her in German. This meant that the extent of
my English knowledge was hearing my mother speak, but I had no experience reading or writing the
language. To make matters worse, we moved to America less than two weeks before the start of a new
school year. This meant that I had a very short time to learn everything that I was expected to know.
We went to Hemby Bridge Elementary Schools open house about a week before school started
so that we could meet the teachers. We went to my older brothers teacher first. His name was Mr.
Humphrey. Outside of his classroom was a sign that read Please Sign. However, with our limited
knowledge of the language, we read the sign as Please Sing. None of us understood why this teacher
would want us to sing at an open house, so we stood there awkwardly staring at the sign. Then realizing
our confusion, he asked my brother to write his name on the paper. We then ventured to my sisters
teachers room next. Ms. Friedman would ultimately inspire my sister to become a teacher as well
because of how much time and effort she put into making sure that my sister succeeded. After meeting
her, would move onto Mrs. Hodges. She would be my third grade teacher for that year. Little did I know
at the time, that this teacher would help me become the reader and writer that I am today.
Throughout the school year we would have to write personal narratives, as was the custom for
third graders at my school. With my almost nonexistent knowledge of the English grammar system and
language, Mrs. Hodges would let me write my narratives in German. This way I could receive credit for
the assignments. As the year progressed and my English started to improve, I would sprinkle in a few
sentences written in English into my narratives. Mrs. Hodges would continue to teach me more
vocabulary and sentence structure, until I could write the majority of my narratives in English.
Grammar was a struggle for me to learn. The German language is structured very differently than
the English one. Certain words are capitalized in German, but not in English. The I before e rule is the
opposite in German. Learning the difference between their, there, theyre remained a struggle throughout
the year. Not only writing was difficult though. Speaking with proper grammar was a giant I had to face
as well. Not only did I have an accent I had to contend with, but I would absolutely butcher certain
sentences and words. Listening to others speak, I would pay attention to their word choice and how they
shaped their sentences. Eventually, I was able to mimic the way people around me would speak, and from
that I eventually could transition into writing sentences correctly.
In addition to writing and learning basic grammar structure, I also had to learn how to read again.
Surprisingly, this was not the most difficult thing in the world. Since I could already read in German, I
understood the basics behind how letters, words, and sentences sound out loud. My main struggle was the
speed at which I would read. Since I was still learning the language, I read excruciatingly slow. I
remember when we used to read books as a class, I would constantly be the last one to finish. However,
with time and practice this too slowly changed. By the end of the year, I hadnt quite caught up to the
classs reading speed, but my reading compression and writing abilities were about the same as the rest of
my class. This was ultimately tested with the End of Grade standardized test, or EOGs for short.
EOGs begin in the third grade and continue up through middle school, to test students
knowledge in English and math. The EOGs are based on I-IV grading scale, where a III is passing.
Unfortunately for me, this meant that I had one year to prepare for a test that all the other students had
their whole lives to prepare for. However, with Mrs. Hodges gentle encouragements and help throughout
the school year, I managed to score a IV on the test. This was a special moment in my life. It embodied all
that I had worked so hard that year to accomplish. Just the fact that I not only passed the EOGs after
barely knowing the language for a year, but that I passed them with one of the highest scores possible.