What identifys me by Yuvia

What identifys me by Yuvia - October 2016 Scholarship Essay

Yuvia Lopez
October 7, 2016

How do I start my story, well I was born in Austin, Tx and the child of Elisa and Efrain Lopez. As a child I was developed as fast as other babies. As a toddler I was still slow in learning color, number, and other thing, but learning the alphabet was easy to me because it was just memorizing a song. I could remember a song with no problem but when it came to memorizing words and sounds a letter made I had trouble with it.
Along the way to 5th grade I received two siblings. My sister was much smarter than me and had no problem with learning, my brother on the other hand was just like me but didn’t like school. I would try my hardest to learn but it just didn’t come to me as easily like other kids. I would cry when doing my homework because I just didn’t understand the material and wanted to learn with no problem. It wasn’t until 5th my teacher Mrs. Christianson noticed something that teachers hadn’t. She could see me struggling in class when I would read and write. She had talked to a dyslexic teacher in my school to test me for dyslexia. It wasn’t until the end of 5th grade I found out I was dyslexic. The dyslexic teacher was very helpful but it was hard to accept the fact that I have a disability and that I am different from other kids. When my friends would ask why do you leave class during math or reading, I would be ashamed to say “oh I have dyslexia and I have tutorials during this time.” Even though some kids in my class had dyslexia, they had no problem telling other they are dyslexic. I wondered why they weren’t embarrassed. To me I thought telling people I that I have dyslexia was something people would make fun of me for. Even though being dyslexic had it’s up, like getting my test read to me, or extra time during a test, I would try my hardest and practice everything that I was thought to not be classified as dyslexic. When I went to middle school I still had to take a class for dyslexia but I was ok with telling people that I was dyslexic. Although I didn’t want to take these classes, it helped me make better grades. In middle school I would my accommodation into my advantage. In 8th grade I was taking harder classes because I felt I was ready to challenge myself. I saw improvement in the way I learn but I couldn’t wait till high school to see how much farther I can improve.
When I went to high school I thought I could handle even harder classes with no effort. I learned that I still needed help for dealing with my dyslexia. I didn’t have a option to take dyslexic classes in high school so I was and still on my own, to find ways that make learning easier. Being dyslexic has defined me, I feel in some ways it was stressful but also has made me grow as a person. A big help for accepting that I have a disability, and improving my learning is my family, and teachers that have helped me with assignments and not to be ashamed being dyslexic. Now I am making better grades, but have times where topics are still hard to learn. This failure or challenge is making me successful, through strength.