Choi,+Jung+Yoon+(Faith)BlockD

= __The__ __ Move __=

//Picture of Source:// // 1st grade yearbook.// //It's small, but can you find me at the picture on the right?// //6th grade yearbook.//

//Source Type:// The first two pictures are of my yearbook, a primary source, which I received from the end of the school year of my first grade. Although it doesn't really have anything written on it, the pictures show me 8 years ago as well as my teachers and peers. The next two are from my second grade yearbook at Canyon View Elementary. Even though they're small, you can see the difference between not only the class size but how I grew up, and moved once again to a new school and finished my elementary there. Both these years were really memorable ones, and I found them to be more significant than the years in between.

//Description:// This is a page of my yearbook in 2003. It was my first year fully in America, and this is the first school, first class I attended. I was nervous as heck, but everyone was really friendly, which made me feel comfortable. Luckily I had learned English as basically my first language, attending a Korean-American preschool. I had barely no accent, and all I had to do was make sure that the United States was hopefully war-free. When I moved to California because of my dad's job, the US had just gone into war with Iraq. I remember how all my classmates back in Korea put together a fat packet of hand written and designed letters wishing me luck and farewell. One of the cards said, "Please don't die from the war." Thank God I didn't. If I could die from anything, it would probably be from nervousness. Making friends with people from a completely different society introduced itself as a struggle to me. But I made assumptions without even trying. I quickly became friends with my classmates, and only my classmates, because of how shy I was back then. The majority of them are still my friends today, and I keep in contact with them through text message (when I visit America) and, of course, facebook. I occasionally pull the book out of my crowded shelf and flip through it, remembering the significant events that stood out to me more than others.

//Written Recount of the Event/Importance:// I remember on the first day of school, I proudly slung my pink Disney princess backpack across my shoulders and skipped to class, excited for a fresh beginning. The next year when I ended up moving to another school in the same district, I relived the moment again, and ended up staying in that same school for 5 years. Canyon View Elementary. California Distinguished School, Blue Ribbon Winner and just all around proud. The teachers were nice, the kids were friendly and located at an extremely convenient place--right in front of my house. Moving to this school was really the turning point of my life. I met new people that changed me to become the person I am today, and I like it a lot. Better than being a shy person who got participation marks off in her classes because she was too scared to get the answer wrong. Just that some people are willing to take the chance more than others. I'm somewhere in between. I began to get rid of my stage fright from my first lead role in our third grade play, followed by a solo singing role in the sixth grade. Anyways, I know that these people are really going to be good friends with me for a long time, so long as there's facebook and gmail chatting systems. Staying friends in the 21st century is so much easier, for sure. I learned to become friends with boys and girls, find out how to take my strengths and use them to my advantage while picking out my weaknesses and working on improving those. I got to feel the opportunity of feeling....//exclusive.// Whether it was in advanced math class or a group for "GATE" (Gifted and Talented Education) students, life at Canyon View was great. Of course, I had my own struggles, but it's really true when they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I hardly remember any of those fights and arguments. Just the good stuff. So when I had to leave in sixth grade, I was beyond disappointed and felt like my world was going to end. I moved here with a heavy heart, but soon met new people that filled up my hole the best they could and once again changed me for the better. It's safe to say that if it wasn't for California, I wouldn't be the person that I am today, and that's why this move was so important for me. I learned more about different cultures and trying to fit in, getting rid of my fears and socializing.