My name is Makumba Dukuray . I am a 26 year old  student at Lehman College . I am a Sociology major . I was born and raised in Bronx,New York . My parents are from The Gambia which is in West Africa and came to New York in the early 1990s. Soninke is my first language and English is my second. I didn’t learn how to completely  speak English til I was in 2nd grade . From kindergarten til the time i was finally able to grasp English it was difficult for me to communicate with my peers and teachers . I wasn’t able to get what I was being taught as quickly because I had translate what was being said and put it in words I can understand . During those times I felt left out  because I couldn’t speak English and I didn’t have anyone who spoke my native language and who spoke English fluently . I learned English from the people at school and the kids in my neighborhood . And whatever I was able to read I will read like books and newspaper articles helped me learn new words . My dad paid our neighbor to help me with homework since I was struggling with it . She was very helpful and kind to me . She made learning how to read and write easier for me because as time progressed I was able to understand and communicate effectively .  I wasn’t embarrassed to talk to people I was able to talk with confidence . As time went by I developed a liking for writing because I was able I express myself in writing . I had a journal growing up and I would write in it to express myself and talk about things I wasn’t able to talk about to others . I took writing classes in the past and always enjoyed them because it was interesting to learn about the different writing styles and themes . I like reading but it has to grasp my attention right away or I will lose interest . I enjoy fiction I have wrote fiction stories in the past . Like I mentioned earlier I like pretending to be my characters so I can live life in someone’s shoes which is the point of fiction .