AP US History: Overcoming Obstacles Of My Life

Growing up, school was not a major factor in my life. I come from a hard-working, middle-class military family. My mother, a Filipino immigrant, was a homemaker. My father was a 21-year United States Marine veteran. They were my first impression of what I thought my future would be. Being the youngest of four children, I was expected to fall in line behind my siblings when it came to education. I was never pushed to excel in my studies, so I did just enough to get by. As I watched friends escape the grasp of a military town and ascend to their respective colleges, I was left wondering what was next for me. I attended my local community college for a brief period of time. I treated college no different than high school. I

a. The global warming and extinction of megafaunal animals allowed agriculture to be born. From this agriculture came inequalities in the social structure due to specialized labor. For the Eastern Woodland Communities, the social inequalities from the agriculture created classes with a chief at the top. They demonstrated power by conquering other tribes in warfare. This was the first time in history when birth determined leaders and upperclassmen.

1. Describe the conditions of the western "borderlands" of the 1830s as well as the factors attracting American settlers.

* These civilizations developed complex political systems and large networks of paved roads that unified the civilization Incas in Peru.

1. “The opponents of the annexation of Texas and the Mexican War attacked slavery as the root cause of expansion, but in fact it was no more important than other causes.” Assess the validity of this statement, using the documents and your knowledge of U.S. history from 1820-1860 to support your answer.

1. The settlers, as well as Austin, were outraged with the Mexican rule over Texas because the Mexican government wanted all Texans to convert to Roman Catholics, become Mexican citizens, and even read/write in Spanish.

Spring of 1540 (pg 6): A Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto went to the temples of Cofachiqui and met the lady of Cofachiqui, where he held a storehouse of weapons and chest upon. After loading their horses with corn and pearls, they continue on their way.

     Although the federal governments attitudes and actions towards blacks and Native Americans civil rights in the 19th century were very different they also had lots of similarities. Both blacks and Native Americans were treated poorly and did not have many rights. Blacks were slaves and Indians (Native Americans) were fighting to stay alive. All these negative actions were a bad look for a country that was growing bigger and bigger by the day to someday reach what the United States is today.

Nine years ago, I never could have imagined I’d be writing this essay. I was a senior in high school, and, like the rest of my classmates, I was apprehensive about the future. Unlike my classmates, I felt like I had missed the proverbial “you need to get your life together” message. I watched my classmates apply to colleges, their majors already decided and their future careers mapped out. While I was an above average student, I felt I lacked the decisiveness my classmates seemed to have. I did not feel passionate about a career or even a field of study. I felt defective. This was compounded by the financial strain I knew attending college would have on my family. It seemed wasteful to try to “find my passion” at school while squandering

While learning about the 54th Massachusetts in my US History class, I felt much emotion and curiosity rising into me. I wondered “Why are they being treated so badly? They’re still a regiment like any other at the time”, and from having emotions such as anger, confusion, hatred, I remembered almost every detail of what we were taught. Whenever I am in a history class, I sometimes have the tendency to really get into what we are learning that day, causing me to learn more, but also have fun. I feel as if I was watching a movie or was there myself.

However, junior year of high school changed that: I was given the opportunity to take either AP Psychology, or AP European History. I felt that the obvious choice would be to take AP European History, since I’m European and therefore already had a solid foundation for succeeding in the class, but something inside me told me to take a blind leap of faith and choose AP Psychology instead. This choice proved to be one of the greatest decisions I have made in my life. Through this class, I emerged myself into the world of psychology and fell in love with it. I didn’t complete the assignments to get a good grade. I completed them because I cherished every minute of it, and I started applying the materials learned in class to real life

I remember going into my freshman year of high school nervous but excited because I thought I’d learn so many new things. Next thing you know I found myself dreading school. Was I being lazy? Was it my lack of motivation? I still can’t grasp why exactly I lost that excitement or that yearning to go to school. I was raised to have the idea that school was a place to learn not socialize. But at the age of 14, what teenagers don’t want to socialize and that’s what got a hold of me. I spent too much time worrying about other things that didn’t involve my education.

What is life? Life consists of experiences, challenges, and achievements; all of which are building blocks that essentially create ones path to success. In one’s lifetime they can experience tough and difficult challenges. Sometimes these challenges become unbearable, especially when the odds are against you. However, going against all odds is something everyone is capable of doing, and to overcome these challenges everyone needs to have a “never quit” attitude in life. If we develop it, we'll overcome quite a bit.

In junior High School, things started to turn around for me. Although I was still placed in lower level classes, I developed a love for learning. In the years to come from Junior High to High School, I had a strong urge to make up for lost time. One class I started to excel in was the one I used to have the most trouble with, Mathematics. It seemed as though the once boring and complex equations now seemed meaningful and simple. As I progressed into 8th grade, I was able to advance to normal classes. I felt that the hard work I put in was finally paying of. At this point, I felt that I could handle a higher level. At the end of 8th grade, I took the necessary procedures and tests to try and get into honor - level courses in 9th grade. After taking a summer course of Algebra 1 and several tests I was able to succeed and take the classes. The experience was great. I felt that I was finally going the right direction

During childhood, I took enjoyment in reading, school, and the arts. Escaping into books and my schoolwork would be my escape from real life. Since school was the priority in our household, there was little time for extracurricular activities. Similarly, through my high school years, determined to make my mother proud, I pushed myself to succeed. Above all else, college was the goal