As Jose moved into the US over the summer, he was surprised to find out that he would be attending High School, rather then working with his father to make money for the family. Though he was mean to be a Junior in High School, the school held him back to be a Freshman because he did not understand English, and would be unable to pass his junior year. By finding it difficult to learn English, he quickly grew frustrated, but in his frustration, he realized that not understanding English greatly improved his ability to do math well. Though he did not understand math well in Mexico, it finally clicked for him in the US, causing him to get good grades in math subjects, while still struggling to learn English.

Throughout his Freshman year, he constantly pushed to either quit school or go back to Mexico as he greatly felt that he did not belong in the US. However, by trying to talk to his High School Counselor, she motivated him to continue to stay in high school for at least one more semester in attempt to see if he felt more comfortable or not with his new life. His father on the other hand absolutely refused for Jose to leave, stating that “You have no option. You are going to stay here. Even if you quit school, you are going to stay here.”

Jose explains that even though his counselor was pushing for him to stick with learning, the reason why education did not matter to him was because “there is no push for one to learn or get more educated” or “the importance to go to college. He was therefore, greatly opposed to the idea of continuing his education.