Sanchez 1

Jaqueline Sanchez
Professor Collins
English 115
12/10/2015
Breaking Out
Since the majority of the students from my school came from low-income
families, we were all taught to take things seriously and compete with one another. This
was implemented in our daily lives for teachers thought that we, being from an all
Hispanic school, specifically would suffer in the real world. Teachers would say, Life is a
competition; one will always compete in order to succeed. Although I did not fully
agree, throughout my school years I was forced to do so. Every year, students would
compete to get into honors and AP classes. This system had pros and cons. For one,
students had to work hard to acquire what they wanted, on the other hand, some
students completely gave up thinking they were not good enough to compete. Making
students think that competing with one another was critical in order to succeed, it
completely changed their perspectives and attitudes towards the school and the real
world. With this new point of view, there was no such thing as a friend everyone was
on their own. Although competition is needed in order for people to grow and succeed,
if this way of thinking continues, people will lose the ability to think for themselves, to
differentiate what is morally right or wrong, and to care for each other to lend a helping
hand when in need.

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Every year there was competition. I was always overwhelmed about the situation
on whether I should go on without my friends. I tried not to let it bother me, however, it
finally got to me. I had left my friends behind. I thought that I had to do what I had to do
in order to earn my place in honor and AP classes. During these critical times, essays
would play an important role, therefore, everyone strived to do their best. The teachers
would only keep those who were considered better than the rest. This competition was
not a healthy one. Teachers were inflicting our minds with indifferences towards one
another. This shouldn't have been the case for thinking isn't really about the capacity to
think, but rather about the choice of what to think about (Wallace) and to stand up for
our beliefs. Most of us knew that it was wrong to display no friendly affection to one
another, yet we disregard how others felt for the sake of our own selfish needs. True
freedom should allow people to freely think and do things that are morally correct.
While I only payed attention to my own needs, just like others, creating a
memorable friendship was not an option. Everyone cared only for themselves that an
act of kindness was never present. This lead to students looking down at each other
once they had gotten accepted into the class. They believed that those who had made it
were worthy than the rest. This was cruel since everyone had potential to do well.
Saunders states, Succeeding, whatever that might mean to you, is hard, and the
need to do so constantly renews itself, and theres the very real danger that
succeeding will take up your whole life, while the big questions go

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untended(Saunders). The word succeeding has a very positive connotation, therefore,

people like it and want it. It is true, I myself was blindfolded by succeeding that I had lost
sight of what I really needed. I was so dedicated to my work that I never bothered to ask
my friends or the person sitting next to me how they felt. In many cases, people can
only see success that they forget that in order to succeed help is needed.
Although some may argue that competitions are a great way to learn and
challenge people in order to develop personal skills, competing can overstress people's
minds. This leads to people not having the freedom to think and grow with the help of
others. Being considerate of others and spreading kindness go hand in hand. It is
important to have these two balances in our lives in order to have a more broad
perspective of how we view the world. Thinking about things in only one point of view
limits one to not think deeply of things. During that critical time where every student
wanted to be in that honors or AP class, a positive approach should have been taken.
Only if you're aware enough to give yourself a choice, you can choose to look
differently (Wallace) only then will one start seeing the other side of a situation. Doing
this act is not easy, it takes time to see beyond the obvious but once one has achieved
this one will know the freedom of a real education, of learning how to be well-adjusted.
[People] get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't (Wallace). This
then will lead to kindness. Once one has broken down the walls of one's comfort zone,
one will be able to see that there are others just like one that are waiting for this
realization. There is nothing wrong with caring for oneself but as you do, to the extent

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that you can, err in the direction of kindness. Do those things that incline you toward the
big questions (Saunders). Spread that action that when done so it will emit a warm
feeling and make one feel good as well as the other person. That will disperse
happiness for it takes two to create this warm feeling.
During those times in school, I was going towards the wrong path. l had a lost
sight of what really matter all that was on my mind was to succeed. Therefore, I did not
bother to see around my surroundings to be aware that I was not the only one caring for
myself. There were others like myself, yet it was them. That mentality that my teachers
inflicted on me and the other students impacted me and my peers. They made us
believe that prioritizing our needs before others was correct. Fortunately, my mentality
change greatly when I decided to take a different view besides my own. I wanted to see
how others saw and interpret different things, Things seem different in other people's
perspectives. Once I had decided to really think, I saw that the things and people whom
I disregard before all have value. It is important to continue with life actively by being
aware of what is around doing so will make this world a world of more than just one.

Essay 1: Social Literacy

For this progression, you will craft a thesis-driven essay in which you discuss your own
social literacy within the context of a larger conversation. To achieve this, you will need
to reflect upon the various factors (communal, cultural, political, familial, academic, etc.)
that contribute to your social literacy. In this way, you are becoming literate in regard to
your understanding of the ways in which these outside forces have played a role in
shaping your thoughts and your ability to be an active, self-aware member of your
various communities and beyond. You should include information about how you might
have acquired certain behaviors and attitudes related to social literacy and what you
have learned from the experience. In addition, you should not only consider how these
behaviors and/or words may have affected you, but how they affect society as well

Works Cited
Saunders, George. "Transcription of the 2013 Syracuse University Convocation Speech
Written and Delivered by George Saunders." Transcription of the 2013 Syracuse
University Convocation Speech. 15 Sept. 2015. Speech.
Wallace, David Foster. "Transcription of the 2005 Kenyon Commencement Address May 21, 2005 Written and Delivered by David Foster Wallace." Transcription of the
2005 Kenyon Commencement Address - May 21, 2005. 15 Sept. 2015. Speech.