For Carlos Mateo growing up was difficult, but he made it. It started off when Carlos was a kid and he only had one person helping him in school because his mom and dad weren’t able to support him in school.

Even though his mom and dad weren’t able to help him he tried his best and was luckily the first child to pass through college and get a job.

Even though Carlos had some regrets he was still proud of what he has accomplished.He was then able to support his family and set a really good example to his little siblings that anything is possible.

Even though Carlos was going through rough times, he was still able to pass college and get a job. This accomplishment was an accomplishment because he was able to support his family and show his sibling hope for our futures.

Transcript:

Jeremias Mateo: How does it feel that you were the first born child?

Carlos Mateo: I feel like I was blessed, the reason being is because my mom had issues with having kids at first. She said she lost her first three children. I was fortunate, lucky enough to be raised in better conditions to where I can survive so I feel blessed to be the first.

JM: How was it growing up?

CM: It was very difficult growing up because we were very poor, first generation, so because of that we didn’t have guidance to help. So for sure it was difficult being poor, malnutrition but still having better conditions than previous country.

JM: How was school?

CM: School was the very good. My mom would say I would cry when I go to school because I’m so attached to Mom, but overall school was fun. I remember it being very educational and having compassionate teachers and just overall a very fun time. In my memory early school was the best and the easiest.

JM: Was there anyone to help you?

CM: When it came with school my parents didn’t help. The only help we got was from one of our relatives or uncles. He was very helpful in a way with math, simple math especially, but not English so we had help but it wasn’t much.

JM: If you had one thing to change, what would you change?

CM: What I would change is I would rather that I was not shy when I was younger because number one I would’ve had more people I’d have fun with. I could’ve have gotten more help if I wasn’t shy and even in the future, like right now, a lot of people I met in the past are gone but I still have a good amount of people that remember me and talk to me and if I would of have talked to more people and not be shy it would help me out in the network of people I have and they would reach out to me in case of a need of help or even offered things that they can help me with.

JM: Would you say that that is one of your biggest regrets, being shy?

CM: Yes I would say having the biggest was being shy and I think I was a pretty smart guy, I did really well in school especially with high school on up, but I was very shy and I wouldn’t communicate with many people or if I had problems I would actually just read over and over instead of just asking the teacher help or anyone else, it is, it was definitely a waste of time or unnecessary stress.

JM: How would you say that your present is, wait no how would you say that your past is different from your present?

CM: Definitely I would say I have changed in my attitude from before I would be shy but now I’m like very outspoken and if I have something to say I will say it. I’m not shy anymore and as I get older I stop caring more about what others think of me and or if it is out of the norm what to do. If it helps me if it helps others and is a good thing to do it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

JM: How do you feel about your accomplishments?

CM: I feel very good in my accomplishments considering that I was the first child and even from the beginning, towards the end of college which I completed I did not have much help but because of that I actually tried really cause and goodness and I am now working where I want to be and and I am still only getting better, more experience, better options than what is best for me.

JM: While growing up what were you most proud of?

CM: While growing up the most proud thing that I did was I was able to turn around my life as a student during high school. When I was in middle school I barely managed to graduate and I would say I was a troublemaker but when I came to high school I was given the opportunity to attend a charter school with a very small count of students and the principal actually had to interview me and I had to be persuasive as to how or why I was willing to change my life around and take a spot in the school and I’m happy and I was proud of myself for turning my attitude towards school to a better direction. I was able to graduate high school, I was able to graduate high school with a GPA of 3.85 and it gave me a good start with applying with college and it was at that point in high school and during high school I was most proud of.

JM: What advice can you give me as an eighth grader?

CM: As a eighth grader I would say this is a very important part of your life because I feel like the people I met and had fun with in high school were the people I still talk to and remember, so my advice for you as an eighth grader would be to stop being shy and try to enjoy yourself and meet people. Yes education is very important but at the same time you want to remember people and you want to be remembered as well so I would definitely suggest not being shy and trying to have more fun.