Draft Paper 2

     I answered the phone, annoyed at the disturbance, I was just about to shower. “Amy are you there? She’s not with us anymore....she’s left us....she died.” My dad tried these new words on his tongue, not knowing what to say, not used to the words. I was frozen, I had no idea what to say. I wasn’t particularly close to my dad’s mom, but I knew he loved her. I stood in silence as he continued telling me the rest of my family had to be there by tomorrow for the funeral. I had to book a hotel and then he said, “I haven’t told anyone Amy, you’re the kid that’s going to tell everyone.” 

  I had been going about my day regularly and now I was supposed to deliver the news of my grandma’s death to my brother and sister and my mom. I went downstairs to Aisha, my little sister, who was playing on the computer, and told her the news. I started crying. I felt bad because I wasn’t crying for my grandma, I was crying for my dad’s loss. Next, I called my mom and asked when she  was coming home; my dad said to tell her when she got home. She could hear I was upset from my voice and when I told her the news she spoke two words, “Oh shit,” and hung up. My brother wasn’t answering his phone.

  Eventually, we got to Pennsylvania by 11pm. We sat there with my dad, watching him cry for the first time. 

Point: Even though we weren’t close to my grandmother, we all came together and were there for my dad.

Graduating

     High school physics was a nightmare. I dreaded going to class because I couldn’t grasp the concepts of pulleys and forces and anvils. Everyday was a struggle for me while my friends whizzed through the class. It didn’t make matters any better when I started doing poorly in calculus, which in turn started to affect my scientific equations. Mr. Eisenstein was caught up in creating his own powerpoint textbook which consisted of sheets of paper, no definitions or example problems. He lectured the whole class. At home, we had nothing to study from but one in class example per chapter.

word count: 100

     This first semester at UMBC has been such a new experience to me. Psychology 100 has opened my eyes to the college academic life. We are left to be independent and it is our choice on whether to come to class or not. Attendance isn’t taken and there is no way you can pass the class without reading the textbook and completing endless hours of online labs. Everything is about personal effort and participation in class. We are encouraged to engage in conversation and are hardly babied. I love being independent and having the resources to reach my personal goals. 

word count: 100