8.27.2011

2011 Update: First Year Scholar, Christine Rivas

April 2011

To the family of Stephanie Burgos,


Sometimes I can’t really believe it’s been three years since I graduated high school, let alone that I'm going to graduate next year. If someone had told me all these things were going to happened to me and I was going to do and learn so many things, I never would have believed them.The past year has been very busy but I’ve learned a lot from it. First, I finished pledging Alpha Sigma right after writing you my last letter, which has taught me a lot about myself and a lot about business, not to mention being a grown up. Already, I’ve learned the basics of running a website, publicity, and I’ve even helped out with rushing (recruiting for the next semester’s pledge class).
I’m taking sixteen credits again this semester, and I’ve learned a lot of things from all of my classes. I’m taking a film class this semester so I can take screenwriting next semester, so I can see if that’s what I want to do with my career, as I know I can go many different directions with the degree I’m about to receive. I’m also taking a few classes on modernism and how to interpret literature, because we’re reading a lot of classics in those classes (Mrs. Dalloway, Frankenstein) and I found last year that you can learn a lot from the classics. I’m still in the Brooklyn College choir, and I’m even taking a music class so I can pick up the music and the technique faster.
As for next semester, I'm about to finish my creative writing degree, and I'm taking classes in both playwriting and screenwriting, because being able to do both of those things has been a dream of mine ever since I'd actually seen a play. I'm also considering becoming a kindergarten or second grade teacher, so next year I also plan on taking education courses and going full steam ahead toward grad school.
My family is doing very well also. My dad was in the process of adopting a son, and he’s finally home after three very long tedious years. He just turned three in January, and he’s extremely intelligent, even if he only speaks Spanish and I can barely understand him. I can understand Spanish way better than I can speak it, so I know what he’s saying, he just can’t understand what I’m saying. This whole thing has helped me decide I’m going to seriously learn Spanish to the best of my ability, because I want to be able to have a relationship with my brother as soon as possible. Also, if I could get through pledging a sorority, learning Spanish is a breeze in comparison.
In short, things have changed a lot for me, not in terms of school work, but in terms of life and the things I’m doing now and the things I’m learning, both in school and out of it.

Hope everything is going well for you too:
Christine Rivas

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