I was always a diligent girl who loved to study. From a young age, I excelled in school, and my teachers always praised my progress, interest, dedication, and discipline as a student. Since my parents worked and my grandmother—who took care of us—was illiterate, it was my responsibility to do my homework without any help, study for exams, and also help my younger sisters. That was the only condition my parents imposed on me so that I could watch TV or go outside to play. Although it was an order and I was a girl who just wanted to have fun, I never saw classes as a punishment.
I can say that, in general, at first, I liked all the subjects; it was only when I entered high school and the curriculum became more demanding that I began to prefer some subjects over others. These preferences arose not only because of the content, but also because of my abilities and even the teachers who taught them. For example, I loved Venezuelan Geography because I had a wonderful, charismatic teacher named Luis Diaz; on the other hand, I hated English because my teacher was lecherous, abusive, and always smelled of alcohol.
But there were subjects I always loved, even if I didn’t like the teachers who taught them. Those subjects—in which I always did well—were Spanish and literature, and biology. From a very young age, I found the scientific explanation of how and why all organisms on Earth functioned fascinating; and on the other hand, I enjoyed reading, writing, interpreting, and analyzing any text.
I remember that my seventh-grade Biology teacher was the one who instilled in me a love for biology. Manuel Figueroa was a super-smart, grumpy scientist, but he taught his classes with incredible passion. Every time we had to look through the microscopes, he would describe what he saw so vividly that we felt—and indeed it was true—as if we were discovering a wonderful world invisible to the naked eye.
With Spanish and literature, I didn't have to study—it came easily to me. While my classmates found it a chore to read a 200-page novel, for example, for me it was a pastime. I enjoyed reading and interpreting what I read. And although I certainly had some Spanish teachers I didn't like, I eventually made peace with them and always got excellent grades. So, if I had to choose between Spanish and Biology, I would choose Spanish without hesitation, since I never saw it as a school subject, but rather as a way to learn more while having fun reading.
I’ve always believed that our academic abilities and our inclinations toward this or that subject are decisive when choosing a college major. It’s unlikely that someone who hates math, for example, would study engineering, computer science, or accounting. If we choose a major we enjoy—one that makes us feel motivated, curious, and hopeful—we’ll surely be more willing to overcome obstacles and reach our goal.
