Elizabeth Cano

I am going to write about my life in YouthBuild. I have made many changes since I have been here in YouthBuild. My changes are waking up early in the mornings, being more respectful, and also performing every task I am assigned to do in education and at the construction sites.

First of all, waking up early in the mornings to get ready for school was not an easy task for me. For the past 4 years, I did not attend school. It was really hard for me. But, here at YouthBuild the staff has made it easier for me to wake up and get to YouthBuild on time. In YouthBuild, you receive detention if you come in late to school. I think it is a great rule for students because detention really makes it easier for us to arrive early and this will certainly help us in the future when we begin with our new jobs.

Second of all, YouthBuild has also helped me to become more respectful towards others. When I entered YouthBuild, I was really loud and disrespectful. I would answer back to the teachers. But now, I have changed. Today, I am a really good person. I respect others and I answer in a courteous manner. Also YouthBuild has given me confidence in my skills at work and at home. I was a really negative person. Now that I am here in school, it has made me a positive person in many ways. One aspect in which YouthBuild has helped me is in my self-confidence of being able to get my GED. This has helped me in a positive way, because I would say that I was never going to be able to pass it. Here in YouthBuild, the staff has made me think differently and helped my confidence in myself.

Third of all, being able to perform my task in education and at construction is a really helpful way to acquire essential working skills. I get to help others in building their homes and help myself by learning many things I did not know before. Being a mom of a 1 year old child made it difficult for me to do my homework because I also had to take care of my child. YouthBuild helped me by providing tutors after class and also by aligning me with quality mentors. Having this kind of help really makes my heart proud. It shows me that the staff really cares about my future and me.

Thanks to YouthBuild I now think of myself as a positive person. My future plans are no longer limited because I now have a willingness to work hard. I have learned that anything that is worth having in life will require hard work. Like my dad always told me, “Con trabajo, todo se puede” (With work, anything is possible).

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 at 3:43 pm . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.