Essay
Writing 101, July 1, 2002

Discovering my Character

What would you say if a person asks you a question like this? Who are you? But who, really, are you? Will that be okay for me to say, “Hey, I am Reyes” will this person be satisfied with my answer? If I was the one who was asking the question, probably no! How can I get to know who are you just by giving me a name? Because in my case, I go by my nickname “Tony” most of the time and after all; most of my friends don’t even know my real name. For this reason, I would like to let you know who I am.

In my personal communication skills I consider that I need to work on overcoming some of the anxiety while talking to others most of the time because English is my second language and I still have accent from my native language. People may think I am a totally different person until they got to know who I am. I have had people who think that I don’t like to talk, or that I don’t like to have friends just because I am quiet most of my time, so these people who think in that way are letting their assumptions to describe my personality by saying so. I have seen it several times at work especially from people who believe that their culture is superior to the Latin Culture. Even though, on my part I feel that no body is superior to others, while I see this happening to me, I just react to it in a positive manner because that is what really am. I like to have positive personality with every body and that is what I really am.

The fact that I still have some limitations with my second language (English) does not mean that I have last my positive personality. The fact that my accent in English is not perfect does not mean that I deserve to be rejected by others. I truly think that people give out only what they have inside themselves, so for me having to work with other people that have different backgrounds is a big joy even though sometimes it is hard.

After a few years that I have been living and working in the USA, I feel that I already discovered what I really want to be in my future. I would like to study in a field of communication and business. First of all, I like working in areas where I have to be talking with people all the time. The experience that I have gained by coming to this country after all this time that I have been living here has made clear that I enjoy working with people. I like to help people; it is something remarkable that when I see that I have done something for others like helping them out to get a job, to learn something new at work or outside work; it gives me a great feeling inside of me. Working with different people sometimes you get through some hard moments. For example: when you are not able to communicate well. I know that there are some situations where you just feel like you just want to quit, but also I have learned that hard moments may bring a good experience in your life.
In my own experience I have been in places where I see myself going down passing for some very hard moments, but I never give up. I have failed several times and those experiences have made me stronger. For example, three years ago I went for a job interview and the person who was doing the interview didn’t know how to cover that she didn’t like Latinos, nor color people. She was in her own world without giving others the opportunity to demonstrate that just the fact of being from a different culture doesn’t mean that her business will go down the hole. Provably this person never worked with Latinos, or people of color. Also, there is a very big possibility that she may have had a bad experience with Latinos or other people of color. There can be a lot of reasons why she feels that way towards others. After all, the fact that this has happened to me doesn’t mean that I should give up actually; I even try harder in order to get what I need. Because of that I don’t consider myself a loser; I am strong and confident about myself. I know what I want in my life, and I will work hard until I get there. This is who I really am: a person who works forward, that a failure is only a message that means to try harder, to go for a different direction, or a different road.

Moreover, another way to demonstrate who am I is by describing you how I work at my present job. First of all, I am working in a small restaurant, and I am the general manager there, so I have to deal with so many different situations. For example, I have to make weekly schedules for eleven people who all are different not just on personalities, but also their backgrounds are different. Another very important thing is that I have to find their purpose for working there, so that I can help them to meet their goals, and needs. First of all, they all have different ages, goals, and needs that I have to take in consideration. I have people that are white Americans, Latinos, Asians, and also I have worked with dark people (African), and Russians as part of my team. For me to have the opportunity to work with all these different people with different beliefs and backgrounds is something that I value as one of the most important skills that I want to have. I have had the opportunity to talk and to mention to some of my employees that color or gender does not have to be judged because for me every body is the same, and that we must respect other’s points of view in life. So, that is who I am a person who believes that the color, background, religion, or any other thing that makes you look different from others doesn’t mean that some one else is more superior to you.

Furthermore, I am a person who likes the outdoors in my free time. My favorite seasons of the year are summer and winter. When I was living with my parents in Mexico, we use to live in a very small town which was still very isolated and rural, so that can be a reason why I still like the outdoors. One thing that I really enjoy doing in the summer time is going to rural areas where I can see people working outside on the fields just as how I use to work with my dad when I was in Mexico. Also, I like visiting rivers because I like to see the clean fresh water that is running from the mountains. There still another place that I like to visit which is parks where I am able to walk and sometimes even study in the shadow of the trees. I feel that it gives me a feeling like when I was living with my parents in the small town. And during the winter season my favorite time is when snows. I like how the trees look all white of snow, with their branches getting down because of the heavy snow. As one can see, I am a person who enjoys the outdoors because of its nature.

In short, I am a person who believes that people give out only what they have inside themselves. Also, I am a person who doesn’t like to give up because I have failed; a failure to me is only a message that means to try harder, or to go for a different road. Another of my characteristics is that I am a person who prefers the outdoors for a relaxing free time. And also, I am a person who believes that if you have a different color, background religion, or any other thing that makes you look different from others it doesn’t mean that others are superior than you.