Assignment 1

    My name is Lorenzo Rodríguez, I am 15 years old and I am from Caracas, Venezuela. I am a sophomore at Cheshire Academy, and it is my first year attending this school. I moved to the United States of America in August of 2016 along with the rest of my family. My brother, Gonzalo, attended Cheshire Academy in 2013 and graduated with the class of 2015. I am taking Public Speaking because I think it is a crucial skill in life that should always be worked on, even if you are good at it. The ability to write and give speeches is also very important to have, I believe. My goals for this class are to be more efficient as a public speaker and to be able to write decent speeches. I have never been afraid of speaking in public, but I think I still require practice in order to master the skill. As to speeches, I have never had the chance to practice them, either writing or delivering them. Because of my relative unknowing of the subjects, I believe that taking this class will benefit my future in this school and beyond a good amount.

  I am from the most dangerous city in the world, with 120 murders per 100,000 people. Caracas is home to around 8 million people, with the majority living in poverty, including some of the world's most corrupt politicians and, at 475%, the second-worst inflation rate in the world; second only to South Sudan at 476%. This is something that has a large effect on kids growing up, for example, kids in America commonly want to be president, however no-one wants to be a corrupt politician when they grow up. Also, the sense of having danger all around you has a large influence on the way you think.

  I played football for the fall season of 2016 at Cheshire Academy. Having never played the sport, it was quite a transition from anything that I had ever played before. I decided to be part of the team because moving to the United States was new to me, and I thought that doing something else new would be great, and it was. The brotherhood formed in the team was something never before experienced for me, from pre-game rituals in the locker room to practice.

                                        

  There is one thing in my life that has always and always will be by my side, no matter what happens: my family. They support my decisions when I am right, they correct me when I am wrong and help get through everything in life. My older brother and younger sister help me with anything that I need; they are my best friends. My parents are great role models, being successful in life and in parenting.