My name is Rosa Ramirez and I am 16 years old. I was born in Mexico and came to America with my mom, my aunt and my older sister when I was a baby. My dad was already in America and we came to be with him and start a new life. My first memories are our first apartment we lived near Gateway. I remember my parents arguing a lot. My father was in his wild times. He gave my mom money but he was out lot. My mom worked and she took care of us too. There are five children in our family. I have three sisters and one brother. At home we speak Spanish and we eat Hispanic food, but we also eat American food too. We celebrate Hispanic holidays.
I went to West Powellhurst from kindergarten to 3rd grade, then from Sacramento elementary from 3rd to 5th grade. I went to Parkrose middle school from 6th to 7 th grade, then I went to Clearcreek middle school in Gresham from 7th to 8th grade. I went to Gresham High School my freshman year and got kicked out. I went back and then got kicked out again for skipping school. I went to Reynolds and got kicked out for the same thing. In 2010 I came to Portland International Community School and I like the teachers.
I came to Focus on Youth in 2010 and I am learning photography. I believe I can graduate because I have put my mind to it. I like the mentors because they are kind and they give me individual help when we are on field trips and editing our photographs on the computer.
In October 2010 I went with Focus on Youth for photo shoot to Hoyt Arboretum with the mentors and Erin, from KBOO radio. This photograph of me was taken at Hoyt Arboretum when I was interviewing the students. On our field trip I learned how to interview and record my classmates. I asked the students what they were photographing and why they like photography. I feel happy and proud that my photos and the interviews I did are on the KBOO website and the Focus on Youth facebook page.
