8B: Memoir

“Try to see the brighter side.”

“My Beloved World”, by Sonia Sotomayor, was an alright book.  It was, most likely, chosen for our Common Read book because it demonstrated a great role model that had to overcome many challenges to get where she is today.  There were a lot of factors in her life that could have held her back from achieving everything she accomplished.  Sonia Sotomayor always took a deep breath, studied hard and became the best person she could be.

  

Throughout the book, there were also a lot of situations that could be useful for college freshman to know.  These situations gave a lot of good advice and it also got us started on thinking about how we should approach our freshman year.  When Sonia Sotomayor first got to Princeton, she didn't join any clubs or organizations.  Instead, she took control of her studies.  She became comfortable with the workload and got secure grades.  It wasn't until her sophomore year that she joined clubs and began to get involved with campus life.  Even though many freshman at Southern didn't follow her lead, it is a great plan.  I referred back to her book when I contemplated joining every club possible.

Something else I learned from Sonia Sotomayor’s book was to use whatever I learned, from anywhere, to help me everywhere.  She mentions, a few times in her memoir, that the most important lessons and skills that have helped her through the toughest of situations came from unexpected places.  She learned how to be a great public speaker, not from public speaking class, or her debate team but, from her Abuelita reading poetry in the living room.  I am sure the class and the team practice helped a little but, Abuelita showed Sonia how to add feeling and capture the attention of the audience through passion. Sometimes, the most important lessons don’t have to come from the classroom.