Blen

The word “Potential” is derived from the Latin word "potential" meaning power, might, or force. In my case, it was the one word my elementary school teacher used to describe my abilities.

Hi! My name is Blen Fantaw and I am a freshman at Preuss UCSD. I was born in a little city called Kombulcha in Ethiopia.

When I was born, my parents knew that life in Kombulcha isn't fulfilling their life’s dream, and wanted better opportunities. My father had immigrated to America to become a citizen and arranged plans for my mother and me to live there. My mother took her 6 months baby across the world for the sake of a better life. My parents had immigrated to Las Vegas, where we lived for 2 years. During that time, my mother was in school to become a nurse and my father was practicing to be a barber. Even then, they noticed that Las Vegas had limited opportunities for them to prosper in their life’s goal, so they moved to California and resided in San Diego. As I grew up, my mother started teaching me about our culture, to keep in touch with where we come from. I sang songs that used my native language and started practicing the language by calling objects names. I eventually learned about the alphabet, ate my cultural food, and learned to write. I grew to be more eager about my culture every day. My mother and father started working long hours to afford the necessities we needed. They struggled every day but still put a smile on my face.

At the age of 6, my mother and I went to Africa to visit my relatives in Ethiopia. This would be the first time I would be seeing my relatives or at least the age I can acknowledge them. I remember when I first visited my cousins we were playing a car game. In the game, if I was to crash into anything, the game would end. My cousin and I were taking turns after one of us would crash. As I was playing, I crashed but wanted to play one more time. “One more time, please”, I begged my cousin. “No, you finish, no”, my cousins shouted. I started laughing because I was shocked by how my cousins spoke English. While I was playing with my cousins, my mother and Aunt started discussing ideas of how to care for me while I stayed in Ethiopia. I never knew that I was going to stay, so when my mother told me, I started crying and pleading to go back to America. I saw how my cousins lived, their lifestyle, their house, and their community. I knew that I was never going to fit in and would be treated like an outcast because I knew more about being an American than being an Ethiopian. My mother told me that I was going to live with my aunt and uncle; and that she was going back to America to work and save up money for our family. I lived in Ethiopia for three years and in those three years, I learned about the meaning of my name, my family culture, and where I come from. When I went to Ethiopia, I was six years old and started first grade.

After living in Ethiopia for three years, I came to America at the age of nine and started 4th grade. It was a drastic change for me to adjust to, moving from Ethiopia to America and starting school. All I knew was that I was going to start from scratch and was holding on to small things I knew about English. In elementary school, teachers would use a numbering system to grade students. In my case, teachers would use one-four through to dictate the abilities and comprehension skills a student applies in their classes. Four being the highest, almost resembling an A, and one being the lowest. Progress reports came and I saw that I got major ones and twos, which was very concerning. In my elementary school, if a student were to have low grades, the teacher would request a parent-teacher conference. For me, my parents were on speed dial. I had a lot of parent-teacher conferences and the one thing I noticed was that the teacher used one word to describe my abilities and potential. I knew of the meaning but they used it so frequently that it became redundant. They would constantly tell me that I had potential without any further description of what kind of potential I had and what I could do. So, I questioned my mother for advice. She told me that I could do anything if I set my mind to anything and that the sky was the limit. I started asking questions and studying. The pandemic hit and I was set back to square one. My grades were starting to drop, and my teachers grew more and more concerned. My classes were on Zoom, so it was hard to communicate my concerns to my teacher. In one of my Zoom classes, one of my teachers pulled me into a breakout room and told me that I had the potential to do better. I was shocked that the word had followed me to 6th grade and was still used to describe my abilities. My teacher said the same thing as the other teachers in the past, that I had the potential to do better and no description of what I’m capable of. I started to realize why my teacher would constantly ramble on about me having potential. It’s because I was the only one who knew what I was capable of, not them but I. So, I started to learn more about my capabilities and how I could progress to better myself.

Just before I started 7th grade, I told myself that no matter what, I would try my best to succeed in my education. So, I studied and worked hard to better myself. Progress reports came out, and I had my first 4.0. Immediately when I got home, I ran and showed my mother what I was finally capable of accomplishing, my potential. Ever since the awakening of my potential, I had a 4.0 GPA throughout my seventh-grade year and the next years of my education. I was proud of myself and knew that I could exceed my potential. The accomplishments that I made motivated me to dream bigger. That's why I want to become a neurosurgeon and go to Harvard. I have always been a fan of the brain and how it communicates with the body. Something so small is capable of controlling how a human lives. I want to help people who deal with problems or complications their brain has been through. With that being said, to become a neurosurgeon, I have to have the best education at Harvard. It may sound a little impossible but I know I am capable of seeing myself roaming the halls and studying at a Harvard library. But I do want to complete my undergrad at UCLA or UCS. I know with the support from Brigdeforkids.

In addition to my past, present, and future, I believe that Abridge for Kids can aid me in fulfilling my dream and my goal to exceed my potential and do what I love. If I was chosen, I would supply the money towards a computer I can call my own, new basketball equipment such as shoes and a backpack, I would buy some books to fill up my time and to keep my brain sharp, and I would like to own a pencil case to organize my stationary. I would also take up the east coast or west coast trips that offer students to explore options for the future. I believe that learning more about opportunities will advance my future knowledge.

Thank you so much for reading my story. :)