Nick Andrei Vicencio
Instructor Megan Skelly
FIQWS 10115
19 September 2020

Elementary School: a memorable phase of life.

Unlike many children, reading children’s fantasy books is something that I had never experienced. My childhood year is a wonderful event that I still reminisce. I have a small group of trusted friends and, we would play every single day till the sun goes down. We spent our time together to do something fun, Sharing nothing else, but a moment of laughter in the streets full of happiness. There are times where I would crash into their house saying, “Knock! Knock! Anybody here? Please open the door if you can hear me” then, they would peak into their windows grinning, asking what am i up to. I rather spend the days of the week outside with a friend and get some fresh air than keeping myself inside a gloomy house.

Before, most of the children my age likes to share thoughts by simply writing it on their journals known as Dear diary. I remember one of my best friends writing her thoughts of affection towards her crush to express how deeply inspired she is. Although, I enjoyed reading her compositions, reading, writing, & speaking I believe, is something that I am not passionate about.To be honest, I preferred to express my emotions by turning it into an artwork. My aunt would buy me coloring books and art supplies. Then, there is me with a smile that you can see in the eyes—sincere happiness. I was so naive back then, minding my own business, and imagining the things that is going to make me feel happy. Not until I start my primary education where I encountered points of view & perception.

Most of you may already understand what primary education is. In my country, we call it Elementary School, it is basically a class that prepares students from first to six grades, whereas children at the age between six to twelve are expected to go. In my view, elementary days is such a memorable phase of my life. Imagine, waking up early in the morning with a sizzling sound that comes to the kitchen and hearing your guardian say “Hurry up and Come eat breakfast! You will be late in class” then would walk and accompany me all the way to my school. It was indeed a great memory that I considered vivid in terms of bonding and learning as well. …I remember counting numbers, memorizing the alphabets, learning how to outline every single word cursively, and even practicing how to pronounce unique vocabularies, Inside the classroom full of knowledge and curiosity. It was a mesmerizing experience. My 6th grade adviser, I would say, is one of the best elementary school teachers I had. We call her Maam Noime. She was very friendly, outgoing, & optimistic. Even, some of my classmates compliment her because of her generosity and kindness. In Maam Noime’s class, she likes to share wisdoms about having good manners and knowing the right conduct also, reading Biology and History related topic out loud but in a calmly manner–which is astonishing. Inside her classroom, she made us read several books about the history of the Philippines and let us do free write about what comes to our mind.This were also the time when I was elected in the student classroom officers, where I used to be the class body president. It is a role and responsibility that made me understand how language and communication is important. This role was also able to develop my leadership skills. This made me realize how communicating is effective as it resolves: misunderstanding, conflict, and agreement. One time, I remember hollering “Quiet please!!” to my classmates because they were obnoxiously chaotic that made our adviser extremely mad. This experience, I believe, has been enjoyable. My involvement, I would say, had a huge impact in my life. I believe, it was one of the big steppingstones why I opened my door inside the world of interest with a touch of language and literacy. Until the day I had to fly all the way from the small province in the Philippines to the city that never sleeps—New York City.

To sum up, everyone has their own turning point in life, where they would encounter new experiences or lessons that, I believe, could possibly change perspective. I would say, it also made me grow as an individual, my elementary school experience takes a huge part on it