One day my mind wondered off into what seem to be another world or dimension. I began to see myself on a trip with Dr. Moore, the calculus professor, who had taught me so much about life during the other “times” that I had spend with him.
Dr. Moore the tall, adventurous Calculus teacher who truly made me realize the value of education. As far as academics were concerned, I believed I had always tried my best in reaching my full potential. That is, until I met Dr. Moore. He made me understand that I was not going as far as I was capable of. Dr. Moore offered to help me out on a couple of problems I had been experiencing with Calculus and after a short while he became not only a tutor, but a true friend. I cannot even begin to imagine how many hours I spent in his classroom after the last school bell had rung. Posters of mathematical formulas and other mnemonic devices covered the walls in his office. It was a very spirited class led by a very lively teacher. He went over math in great detail while also informing me of how eminently important it was for academics to be my top priority. Dr. Moore was not only a great teacher; he was a great person who I saw as a father. Although Dr. Moore’s main purpose was to perfect my Calculus skills, he did so much more that he was unaware of. He convinced me into believing that anything was possible if I put my mind to it and had a brain-full of determination. If I wanted to be the president of the United States, he would say "Hey, the sky's the limit." After the year ended, my goals had unconsciously changed for the better. I believed in myself, my capability, and accomplishing anything as though the world was an open door to endless possibilities. I was appreciative about Dr. Moore for what he had taught me about life.
School was almost over and I wanted to thank Dr. Moore for everything that he had done in the past few years. The only way I could pay him back was to invite him to summer vacation with my family. We were going to spend the summer at the beach, leaving behind all the unpleasant moments. After a long time, searching the internet for different kinds of traveling packages, we decided that we were going to Cancun, Mexico. As we ventured through a long flat stretch of highway in Mexico and the hills of Northern Mexico my anticipation grew for the warm air the Carribean Island. As the sun was going down we entered Cancun, Mexico. We spent the night in a cheap, run-down hotel called Crown Paradise Club. Morning came, and we rushed to get our things together. When we reached our condo on the beach we were overwhelmed with excitement. We unloaded our van full of luggage, and placed them inside. At our amazement, we noticed the heavenly view of the Caribbean Sea. With the view so inviting we hurried down to the beach. As we walked along the beach the sand felt light and fluffy between my toes. You could hear the waves crashing into the shore and smell the fresh salt water.
Dr. Moore: Jose, there is many things we can learn from observing all that has been created around us. There is a quote in the bible that says, “Does not nature itself teach you.” There is a panorama of lessons that can le learned from even the smallest creatures on Earth. Even the ants we see hear set a goal and stay with it. There is another quote in the Book of Proverb that says, “Go to the ant, o sluggard and considered her ways. Without having a chief or ruler as she gathers a harvest in summer and prepares her food for winter.” So you see even the smallest of creatures can gives us insights and wisdom. The whole of nature contains many worthwhile lessons if we will slow down and take the time to observe them. This is one of the reasons why we have taken this vacation.
Me: Cancun is naturally a haven for water sports of all kinds. Just about every kind of water sport is available here. Almost every beach has vendors that offer parasailing, banana rides, jet skis and other varieties of small watercraft. The beaches are one of Cancun's most famous attractions, and everyone seems to enjoy the endless activities that abound on almost every beach. You can enjoy volleyball, parasailing, snorkeling, and wave-runners or just a relaxing day in a hammock, it is you’re choice and all are easily available all along the many miles of incredible beaches
Dr. Moore: Enough about the history of Cancun, instead of listening to all this history why aren’t we enjoying the fact that we are here in this Caribbean Island? Let’s live out this vacation, and not talk about it as much.
At the end of day everything was going ok when the unexpected happen. As we were heading toward the river walk Dr. Moore lost his balance and fell from the bridge and into the water. I thought for a moment that he was going to drown. As I rushed toward him I could not think of what to do because of all my anxiety. I looked around in order to get some help, but there was no one in our immediate area. Then all of sudden I knelt down and held out my hand in order to grab his hand. Miraculously (I didn’t know how I did it) I was able to grab his hand. I knew that I would not be able to hold his hand long enough to pull him up, so I had to do something immediately. But what could I do? My mind could not think of anything. All of a sudden I took off my sock and held it out toward Dr Moore. He was able to get a hold of my sock and that enabled me to pull him back to the shore. As the sun was going down we headed to the condos. The day had been a very emotional one for both of us.
On our second day in Cancun we woke up to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. We went down to the beach to take a walk. As we were walking we came across beautiful sea animals that were being washed up by the waves. Their lives had been cut short by e the course of nature. I looked at these beautiful creatures and saw how transient life could be.
Me: Dr Moore do you want to go the island called Isla Mujeres?
Dr. Moore: I am not sure. What is Isla Mujeres? I don’t want another accident to happen. I am still shaken by what happened yesterday
Me: Isla Mujeres is one of those great places that defy description; the name means "Island of Women". Isla Mujeres is always blessed with cooling breezes. This is a great place to kick back and forget everything. You can even rent a motor scooter and tour the island, get a massage, take in a Dolphin show or even swim with them. Or just relax on the beach and read a book.
Dr Moore: That sounds like a great idea. I need sometime to reflect.
Me: Dr Moore, who inspired you as you were growing up? How did you become so good in math?
Dr Moore: My passion for math and education in general is something I got from my father. From the time I was little he had been intensely involved in my education. I was always taught that average was not good enough and that I should always be ten steps ahead of my fellow classmates. Looking back, I remember him continuously stressing the importance of a good education. Some days he would take me for walks in the hills with a determination to teach me whatever he could think of that day. [1]
Me: So every time you had a problem, your father was always there to back you up.
Dr. Moore: Yes, indeed, my dad was always there to back me up with personal problems and with my school work. There was one time when I was eleven. I was studying for a math test on a topic in geometry that I didn’t understand, so I went to my dad for help. My father was fixing our refrigerator and quickly dropped everything to help me. We stayed up late that night working out math problems with a piece of chalk on the basement walls and floor. I ended up with a hundred and most importantly I assimilated that information into my long term memory. What about you. Who has inspired you to keep on going?
Me: My family as a whole has inspired me to keep on going. One motive I have is I don’t want to disappoint my mom. I come from a family of four brothers and two of my brothers are in head start. My father earns a low wage and it is really hard for him to support my whole family. This crisis has inspired me to get an education so I can manage to get the schooling that my parents never had. I want to be able to help them out financially.
Dr. Moore: Jose, I know this is not the right time to talk about this. But remember to set your goals in life. Setting goals is a very important part of success. First of all, it gives you a reason to keep moving, a motive to strive for something. Secondly, it helps you to believe in yourself. There are certain goals you set for yourself that may be very hard to achieve. In fact, you may not ever even reach them, but at least you tried. That's what life's all about anyway. Trying, not giving up along the way. If you give your total effort, in the end you will be satisfied with your life. You'll look back and realize you did the best you could. I am sure that you understand everything that I am saying, I just want for you to succeed in life because you have the potential within you.
Me: Can you teach me everything about setting goals?
Dr. Moore: I will teach you some of the things that my father taught during his life time. He taught me to take time off so that I could establish goals for my life. He also taught me that I had to take the time to regularly recalculate these goals and sometime to establish new goals. For example, when I got married and had a family I had to establish goals with my wife for our relationship and for our children. I had to adjust our professional goals to take into account the needs our family. I also had to establish goals for my children and teach them to establish goals for themselves. This requires constant dialogue with my wife and children. I had to learn that each child was unique in his/her talents, so that there individual goals would be suited to that child. I also felt that it was my job to encourage my family as they reached their goals and to reward them when goals were met. My children learned that it is important to have direction in life, just as I had received constant direction from my father. They did not always like the fact that I held them accountable for the direction they were going in, and that there were consequences for goals met or not. They later learned to appreciate what I was trying to do in their lives. I am proud to say that all of my children have been “successes”. When I call them “successes” I mean that they have achieved many of their goals and have other visions for their lives. It is important Jose, for you to realize that success is not a product of other people’s opinion, but of you fulfilling your own dreams and visions. When you have your own family someday, I hope you will teach this lesson to them. If you become a teacher this is one of the most important things you can teach to your students. Some will listen and some will not. Focus on those students who will listen.
Me: You have been more than a friend to me and I know that whenever I feel the need for a friend I can count on you. You helped me understand many different concepts that I will never forget. You are the reason why I want to be a mathematician. I hope I see you in my future and if don’t you will always be in my heart.
Dr. Moore: This is not time for sad moments. We have to enjoy our last night here in Cancun. What do you want to do Jose?
Me: Do you want to go sports fishing? I heard that Cancun and the surrounding area offer some excellent sport fishing; you can go deep sea fishing in the outer Caribbean for sailfish, marlin, dorado, wahoo, grouper and bluefin tuna.
Dr. Moore. That sounds like a great idea. Back in my times you were not allow to deep fish unless you had a license. These days everything is so different. Many different kinds of laws are being passed allowing people to do a variety of activities that were prohibited back in my times.
On our last day in Cancun we spend it on the beach, listening to the sounds of nature, catching colorful sea shells in the ocean water, and building beautiful sculpture of sand castles. It was a day to remember and we were not hoping for this day to end. As the night rolled around we watched the beautiful sunset in the sky and listened to the roaring waves crash against the shore. Sadly, the sun rose and Dr Moore and I awoke. We ate breakfast and slowly packed our bags. We left Cancun. Finally we arrived in Roma, I was anxious to tell my friends about my learning experience with Dr. Moore. I talked to Mr. Ramos, my calculus teacher, about my learning experience with Dr Moore and he didn’t believe me. He said that Dr Moore had died sixty years ago. One night in my sleep I had this weird dream about an old man who looked exactly like Dr. Moore. The old man got close to me and said, the job is done you are ready to become a great mathematician.
