Escalante 1

Jesus Escalante
Professor Malvin
English 114A
September 26, 2014
With Words I Struggle
Education is important to those who pursue it. With education varying from the
simplicity of English, to the various diverse languages, often the luxury of trying to pursue a
post-secondary education comes with many difficulties. Education, when taken advantage of, is
an important factor in my life, but to succeed, I as an individual, must first overcome obstacles.
In I Just Wanna Be Average by Mike Rose, much of the essay expresses motivation and how
his teachers teaching methods greatly affected the way he learned. Despite many difficulties,
education can become a significance in the lives of those who pursue it and often achieving
success comes with struggles.
English is a difficult subject to comprehend, and like Rose, English was simply not my
ideal subject. My lack of interest was not due to the amount of reading involved, but because of
my struggle with writing. Just as Rose had his share of difficulties with writing, writing,
personally, became difficult and making words connect soon became my weakness. Captivated
by Mr. McFarlands lessons, Rose soon grew an interest in education. But I worked very hard
for Mr. McFarland had hooked me (p.185). English grew on me after my senior English teacher
Ms. Hinton, too, hooked me with her lessons and way of teaching. Ms. Hinton, short and sweet,
captivated you to enjoy her lessons by providing examples while adding her hysterical side to the
lesson. As she read a line from a novel we had been reading, her hysterical side created a

Escalante 2
connection to the character in the books age, making fun of herself to intrigue the class was
more than enough for me.
When thinking about continuing education, lack of motivation often prevented me to
continue. In the case of Rose, college wasnt a thought until Mr. McFarland questioned him
about it. College wasnt a privilege I could afford. Motivation is important, when dealing with
difficult situations it is only that motivation that keeps me pushing and trying to seek better
outcomes. That motivation is the barrier that divides giving up and actually succeeding in my
life. Not being able to pursue an education due to financial struggles made things hard and often
brought a feeling of stress but however, before even considering the slight idea of giving up on
my dreams of attending college, Ms. Hinton motivated me to simply look into college, to forget
about the cost and simply look. At that point college seemed impossible and struggling to write
made it just as difficult. As stated by Rose, The reality of higher education wasnt in my scheme
of things: No one in the family had gone to college; only two of my uncles had completed high
school (186). In connection with Rose, no one in my family attended college either. Not having
anyone in your family who attended college can play a big role in the motivation you receive to
continue with your education. Both Rose and I, despite such difficulties, connected with a
teacher who gave us the inspiration to know it was possible.
Now that I am attending college, I feel like I have accomplished a large obstacle. Rose
overcame his struggles with writing and just wanting to be average. Now a famous writer, his life
achievements are because of his obstacles. What is the significance of reading, writing, language,
or education in life? If being average is good enough why try any harder? Education is an
important thing in my life, without education possibilities would be difficult to achieve, yet
despite the difficulties, education is what can separate me from others who dont take advantage

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of it. Since I started classes at CSUN, the experience is more intriguing than it was in high
school. Looking back at my experiences, I can only think of the more difficult things will get, but
the most important thing is to never give up.
Rose and I seemed bounded by similarities, having struggled with writing, the lack of
inspiration just seemed to add more difficulty to what we already faced with such writing.
Connecting with my teacher, such as Rose did, enabled me to see education from a different
perspective. The connection between Ms. Hinton and I was a big foundation to my
accomplishments of today. I am now a better writer than I was before, writing simply flows
easily to me and I rarely struggle. The assistance Ms. Hinton provided me with writing changed
my overall view of English and writing, and changed my life along with them too. Although I
can now look back and view my accomplishments, one thing is very clear, success comes with
struggles. Struggling in a particular subject made me want to give up and feel like I, too, didnt
belong in the society around me. Not being able to write or be at least proficient in English
seemed almost as an embarrassment and often made me question my standing along with
everyone else. As I continue my education, I look up to Rose as my motivation to keep trying. I
know that I will not know many things throughout my education but I know I shouldnt give up,
just as he did. Although he is a famous author and I am still continuing my career, when asked
about college we both responded, I dont know (186), and now as I tackle more and more
English courses I know and believe, I too, am capable of achieving success.

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Work Cited

Rosa, Alfred F., and Paul A. Eschholz. "My Favorite Teacher." Models for Writers: Short Essays
for Composition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004. 103-05. Print.
Rosa, Alfred F., and Paul A. Eschholz. "My Favorite Teacher." Models for Writers: Short Essays
for Composition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004. 103-05. Print.