Maria Delacruz

English 5M
10/29/17
Growth Through Wisdom
Advancing to the next level as a writer has been a long and strenuous journey. Professor
Deborah Brandt describes sponsors as powerful figures who bankroll events or smooth the way
for initiates;(Brandt, 47) similarly, as my sponsors did and continue to do for me. Throughout
my academic life, I have had many sponsors that have served to influence my reading and writ-
ing skills. My skills have had to continuously evolve according to the new American writing sys-
tem in which I am placed. I have faced many challenges as a multilingual student, but every
challenge has helped me to better myself as a reader, writer, and thinker.
During my early years I experienced many changes that influenced my reading and writ-
ing skills. I started my education at a school where the population was mainly multilingual and
the students came from similar backgrounds (Mexican culture). Even though most of us had sim-
ilar backgrounds, I was still picked on and bullied by some of the kids in my class. I was bullied
not only for the way I looked but also for the way that I spoke. Spanish was my first language, so
growing up I spoke with a bit of an accent. I went from being an extrovert to an introvert which
led me to read more but I started to write in a more reserved manner. Meaning, I would constant-
ly doubt my writing skills and was scared to take risks. I would only write in a way in which I
thought was similar to the way others were writing. I prevented myself from writing in my own
personal style because I was scared to stand out and be different. Even after the bullying at such
a young age I experienced a change in my skills once again when I moved from a dominantly
Spanish speaking city to a mostly English speaking environment which left me feeling unsure if
my skills were adequate.
When I was moved to the new school they automatically placed me in the ELD program
as soon as they saw that I was bilingual. Deborah Brandt states in her article that the racial group
to which you belong not only affects the types of sponsors that you have, but your testing scores
as well.(Brandt, 49) I feel that because the school I was attending saw that I was bilingual they
automatically assumed that I would need extra help to do well in the new school. The testing that
they had me do while I was in the ELD program only made me feel dumb because I felt I did not
need the testing as I was performing well in school. I was the only one that was taken out of my
class to take this test. My second grade teacher was the one that fought to have my taken out of
that program because she saw my potential and believed that I was too smart. She helped raise
my confidence as a student and that showed through the scores that I was receiving in the years
that followed. She showed me that there was nothing wrong with being a little different and
helped me to embrace everything that made me who I was.
Once again the start of junior high brought the need to adjust to a new environment that
left me insecure once more. I was fortunate that I had the 6th grade language arts teacher that I
did. I believe that if I had not had her my writing abilities would not be where they are today. She
not only helped me raise my grades, but my self esteem as well. She often used constructive crit-
icism, but she never did it in a way in which she left me feeling dumb or as if my work was not
good enough. I went through a similar experience once again with my 8th grade teacher who
gave me assignments that made me think and write outside of my comfort zone. At the time, I
did not know what the reasoning behind those assignments were but I now realize that they were
meant to help prepare us for the assignments that were to come in high school. My sophomore
year in high school was the year where my writing skills really peaked and improved the most
with the help of my history teacher. Not only did she help my writing, she also helped to build
my self esteem which was showcased throughout my writing as I became less reserved and took
bigger chances throughout my assignments. I began to care less if I was different than others. I
wrote in the way that I wanted to write and showed more of who I was.
Now as a college student, I find myself once again trying to adapt to the new demands
that come with writing at a college level. Being a first generation college student I feel as though
I am going through this transition alone. As stated in Multilingual Students and College Writ-
ing: What is a multilingual Writer?, the language [youre] familiar with has ways of organizing
and presenting information in writing that are different from typical American college-level writ-
ing. (Ferris, 23) I feel as though this relates to the trouble that I have while I write because when
I am trying to explain something, I want to use my Spanish slang. This has always been an issue
that I have had but, entering college it has been making me more anxious as I feel I have to prove
my skills are good enough. I am definitely trying my best to adjust to the more formal and pro-
fessional way of writing, but I still feel as if the skills I have now are not good enough. Dana Fer-
ris assures multilingual writers in her article that although multilingual students have hardships
writing, they also posses any strengths that can help them academically. (Ferris, 23) Although I
do feel as if the new environment is challenging and more demanding than what I am used to, I
come back to my roots in not feeling the burdensome stereotype that prevented me from putting
my own touch into my writing because I am no longer one of the only bilingual students in the
class.
Although my academic journey has been a rollercoaster, I have had many sponsors that
have encouraged me to not only grow as a reader and a writer but as a person as well. Without
these sponsors I highly doubt I would have progressed to be the writer I am today. They have re-
ally taken the time to help me learn and become more confident in my abilities. Although I have
not always been proud to be a multilingual student I now realize that being bilingual will not
only be helpful for me professionally, but I can use the skills I have acquired to become a better
student as well.