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Nia Rallings

Mr. Hellmers

English 1101

7 September 2018

Campfire Read Aloud

I remember it like it was yesterday, I entered the classroom sixth grade year, young and

naive. My language arts teacher Mr. Bull had set up the classroom full of long colorful paper of

brown, red, yellow, blue, green, etc. to resemble a campfire in the woods. There was paper trees

and bushes, a waterfall, and a paper fire lit with a flashlight. It was amazing. I was astonished

and so excited for what was to come. The whole class had to write, and then later tell, a story

about a moment that was embarrassing or that affected their life. At this time I was naive to the

fear of public speaking and talking came to me easy. As I anticipated for last period to come, I

imagined what was going to happen and what people’s stories were going to be like.

I entered eighth period, set up my laptop and began to read over my story before it was

my turn to share out. When it was my turn I began my story while everyone listened quietly. Mr.

Bull was very intrigued. In fact he is one of the very reasons I have not given up on books and

reading all together. He was an amazing teacher and made learning fun. He was over hyper and

overly excited about commas and transitional phrases. As class ended I remember being happy

and ready for the next day of school. Going to this school, DECA Prep, and having an amazing

teacher like Mr. Bull really shaped me as a student and helped me realize my strengths and

weakness. It also helped me form strategies for success.

With the help of many adult figures and a great school, I have learned that my

weaknesses are procrastination, writer’s block, and overthinking. Some other weaknesses include
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struggling with non-creative reading and books that do not relate to me. They also helped me

learn my strengths which are creative writing, I am analytical, and once I have a topic I can type

for hours. Along with finding my strengths and weaknesses I also found new strategies that will

help me succeed. I now know that in order to be successful you have to stay focused. I stay

focused by shutting everything out and only focusing on what needs to be done. You have to be

organized and plan things ahead of time. I do this by writing things down and keeping a planner,

this helps me pace myself and not get overwhelmed. Lastly, in order to be successful I ask for

help. I learned that no one should ever be afraid to ask for help because if you do not, you will

end up confused and completing things in the wrong way. Another strategy I use to be successful

is going over every aspect of the criteria before turning in any assignment. I do this to avoid

point deduction.

I also use these important figures in my life as a reminder to stay positive and stay away

from negative things and people. I learned I have to do this to avoid unnecessary obstacles and to

keep my path as clear as possible. Also being positive keeps my mind clear and open for new

things to come.

Along with Mr. Bull and Deca Prep, there are a lot of other influencers in my life who

have impacted me as a student and a learner. These influencers include my older brother, my

ninth grade advisor Mr. Wade, My parents, My church, DECA High, and my peers. All these

people and places have taught me so many things from never giving up to where to put a comma.

There is a wide range of great material I have learned from them. They have all been on my

learning journey and has changed my life for the better. Even when I did not see them on a daily

basis, they still check in on me and offered any help they could give. They have always

supported me and will never lose faith in me.

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It is all like Mr. Bull’s campfire all those supporters are around my campfire listening

quietly and very interested in where my successes will take me and they are all eager to tell me

ways to better my plans for the future. Overall, letting these people in my life was the best thing I

could have ever done. If it were not for them I would not be here. I would not be focused on my

future or be as proactive about my life as I am now.