My Role Model

     My earliest experiences of learning how to be literate always featured my grandfather, my biggest inspiration to become educated. Growing up, he never failed to amuse me with the stories of how he came to the United States and became the man he was now. He was an immigrant from 1960s Cuba where Fidel Castro just came into power. He didn’t want to be part of the political turmoil that was unraveling there, so he fled. When he arrived to the United States, he barely knew any english. However, after being embarrassed by his boss making fun of his lack of English skills, he bought himself an English to Spanish dictionary and learned English over night; that’s what he claims anyway. Still, that story inspired me as a child to further my education. Even with my frustration with my lisp, his encouragement helped me get through it.