More than an award by Elizabeth

More than an award by Elizabeth - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

“Congratulations! You have earned the Riverside Seal of Multiliteracy. ” Reading these words made me experience a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment because I had achieved a goal that I was striving for. I recently applied for the County Seal of Multiliteracy and went through all four assessment components. I applied for and received the seal because I exceed a high level of proficiency in both the English and Spanish language. Basically stating that I am an official bilingual individual, but there's so much more to it than just receiving an award title and medal on my high school diploma. I am very proud of my accomplishment for various reasons.
Yes, I have had other school accomplishments throughout high school, but being able to say that I have accomplished one of my senior year goals is very pleasant. Receiving this seal has made me realize how far I have come within my culture and ability to fluently learn two languages. My parents are monolingual Spanish-speakers so the first language that I was taught to speak at home was Spanish. They motivated me to not only learn how to speak the English language but to improve the Spanish they had already taught me. During my childhood I didn't have many English speakers around me so I grew up only speaking Spanish and was completely fine with it, but when it came to elementary school I was placed in a program that was specifically for students who didn't know English or couldn't speak it fluently. At that time I didn't think much of it until I went to the store one day with my mother and all of the workers only spoke English and couldn't understand so they decided to simply ignored her. I felt unwelcomed and bad that not even I could help my mother out and translate for her. Since that day I was determined to exit the English learning program I was in and successfully accomplished my goal two years later. My parents are not fluent in the English language therefore I am constantly providing them with information and being their personal translator whenever they need one, but they motivated me to not only learn how to speak the English language but to improve the Spanish they had already taught me. Being able to learn about the two different languages I speak and the different communities has been a gateway into another culture and it fascinates me how different everyone's customs can be. It has made a difference in my life because it has made me gain more respect towards others cultures and beliefs.
I live in a state where a lot of people only speak the Spanish language, so it is very easy to interact with them without having someone to translate for me. This Seal of Multiliteracy has taught me that through Spanish I have gained greater communication skills and my vocabulary has expanded. I am able to watch TV with my mother, such as novelas, because I fully understand the language. I also comprehend books and magazines written in the Spanish language. A distinctive viewpoint that I have gained through my study of the Spanish language and its cultures is that they differ worldwide.
Not only am I officially a bilingual speaker but I have officially overcome a challenge I struggled with in elementary school, not being able to fluently speak the English language. I am now fully aware that I am capable of much more than what I put my mind to. Furthermore, more barriers that I will have to overcome will come into my path but I know that I will be able to get through them if I keep my determination.