Read the Subtitles by Lara

Read the Subtitles by Lara - August 2022 Scholarship Essay

My friends have developed a habit of excitedly turning and staring at me whenever movie characters say anything in French. “What’d they say, Lara?” I give them a loose translation, they applaud, and we keep watching. People ask me to teach them random phrases or words in French like “How are you?” “I’m good” or “Rice.” I listen to them completely obliterate the French language, smile, and tell them it’s close enough. If I run a blank while people share fun facts, I’ll default to “I speak fluent French!” My parents moved from Canada to California before having me, and I grew up learning French and English. While French has connected me to my family and proved an entertaining party trick, it has also had drawbacks. It took more effort to differentiate French and English and to understand little paper flipbooks in class. I remember my teacher calling a conference with my mom to explain my struggle in reading comprehension, and I felt devastated. While I’ve grown in this skill, I am striving to enhance my reading comprehension in my heavily reading-based Humanities Core class this year.
While I typically excel academically, with straight A’s and a GPA over 4.0, I still tend to fall back on reading comprehension quizzes. I take it as a bad sign when I learn new plot points from a story I re-read two or three times in class discussions. I can tell I have slowly gotten better. When preparing a Shakespeare monologue, I can usually figure out what the character is saying without having to look up a no-fear translation. I did also get a four on my AP Literature test. There is still a lot of room for improvement, though. I want to apply myself to strengthening my literacy skills. My goal is hugely important to me as my dream career, acting, requires written and media literacy comprehension. I would not like to start a show with a table read and not understand the story I’m going to tell. I’ve already had this experience in high school theatre. We read our parts, and the director elaborates on a phrasing or plot point that I didn’t catch at all on my own. By working more on my reading comprehension, I can earn more credibility and freedom in my career. I would have more space to make independent acting choices based on the text. Literacy skills prove an essential role in my college career and beyond.
I understand, however, that this goal will take more than a reading-based class, and I need a method of measuring my growth to know that I’ve reached my goal. Since looking back at reading tips from my AP Literature notes, I have come up with some ideas to aid my growth. I plan to read through the necessary work of literature, annotating thoroughly. Then, I would write summaries based on memory at the end of each section, comparing them with an online analysis to check my comprehension. If I misunderstand anything, re-reading the written work will give me a chance to catch more details and fill in my knowledge. Next, I would explain what I read to someone else (even if it needs to be my dog, Zoe) to satisfy my auditory learning style and lock in my retention. By taking extra time to ensure my comprehension of literature, I can slowly grow in my skills and get quicker and more accurate. Because I will be enrolled in this class all year long, I have a method of measuring my growth. My goal would be to get a better grade in the class each quarter. I plan to see how I do in the first quarter with these skills, and then I can modify my reading techniques as needed and aim to score higher in the next quarter. This way, I can quantify and measure my growth, gaining a sense of when I succeed.
I know that putting time and energy into this goal will benefit me for the next four years of college and in the long run. Doing this work now will inevitably support my ability as an actress and strengthen my career in the entertainment business. Perhaps when I make it to the silver screen, I’ll get a chance to throw in some French. And, in case my friends see this and didn’t realize, movies usually have subtitles for the French lines.