About Me
I am just Elaine Nguyen. I have always regarded myself as a
normal person, nothing more, nothing less. I didn't think the fourteen
year-old, Elaine Nguyen, could ever accomplish much. I lived in an average home
with my parents and brother. It's true that I had an unusually large family,
consisting of 13 aunts and uncles and over 50 cousins on my mother's side
alone, but it didn't seem strange to me at all. I went through school like a
regular person, though I did achieve better results than others--every day seemed
normal and plain to me. There were times when I truly thought if it was worth
it; there seemed to be no purpose in working so hard.
However, it all changed when I entered Portola Middle School. When I started 7th
grade, I was placed in an English H class with a professor as my
teacher. He immediately told
us that we were the top 25 students of the school and that in his class, it was
work or die. I later found out that I had three classes with him- English, Reading,
and History. Every day seemed like hell.
Every day we were assigned to read at least 50 pages from our assigned books,
write at least a page of something (setting, short story, essay, etc), and
study the history lecture he had given us that day. This continued even in 8th
grade. I liked the teacher himself, but I disliked the work he kept giving us.
It was only until I left his class that I realized how much he had given
me. It might be arrogant of me to say this, but I don't think one can understand how
much he has given to his class until one actually experiences it. He introduced me
to the high school I am attending now, OCHSA (Orange
County High School of the Arts), helped me realize how incredible reading and
writing can be, and I cannot thank him enough for it.I understand that this
biography is supposed to be about
me, but I would not be who I am, getting published in this magazine, without
his help. This is why I want to sincerely thank my teacher, friend, and
second-father, Dr. Boucher. Thank you for helping me get somewhere in my life.