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Lissette Flores

Growth Trajectory

Through my experience in HPIAM High School, I have seen growth in myself in several

areas. During my freshman year, an academic trait that I grew in was concentrating. My lack of

concentration limited me because I couldn't understand the lectures in my classes, which

damaged my grades. In addition, I always jumped to conclusions when a keyword was

mentioned, which distracted me from paying attention. An experience that made me notice this

problem was when my grade continued to drop in the first two months of my freshman year. In

addition, my new path is to pay closer attention and ask short questions while having a

conversation. Now, in my 12th grade year of high school, I am able to concentrate when having a

verbal conversation, I pay total attention to what others say, and I ask questions to ensure my

understanding. In conclusion, I am able to effectively communicate with my teachers and

classmates. I also have improved my grades by asking questions when I do not understand

something.

A skill I grew in in my freshman year was my English skills. Not knowing the language

made it difficult to have verbal communication with others. My grammar was at a low level and I

couldn’t understand much while having a conversation. Since English is my second language it

made me have a more difficulties in my classes. An experience that made a big impact in my life

was when, one day I met my stepsister for the first time. She talked to me in English in a skilled

and perfect way that inspired me to better learn the language. With the help of my teachers and

their assistants, I was able to reach my goal of learning more English by the 12th grade in high

school. I am proficient in English because I am able to effectively communicate with others, my

grammar is better while writing essays, and most of all, I am able to engage in conversations.
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Lastly, a behavior that I was not good at in my freshman year was being insecure. This

problem didn’t let me be sociable, I was shy and negative, which limited me from talking to

others. A personal experience that made me realize my insecure personality was when I

volunteered at a church program. While volunteering, I noticed that I was extremely insecure

because most of the time I kept to myself and was antisocial with the other people in the

program. Now, my new path is to have more self-confidence to be secure in the future in order to

be more involved with the community in an effective manner. In my 12th grade year of high

school, I have more self-confidence and I am more open minded by being more sociable with

everyone I meet. My friends and family have noticed and told me that I have changed by being

more motivated about participating in conversations. I changed my style by wearing colorful

clothing and I am more optimistic by staying positive when things go wrong. I plan to continue

improving my personality by always trying my best in my academic courses in college and by

remaining positive about the future.