Where You See Yourself: Section II

by Claire Forrest
Born with cerebral palsy and needing a wheelchair to get around her Minneapolis neighborhood, high school senior Euphemia Galanos dreams of a career in digital media, but the college that would best prepare her is located in a city that does not seem accessible.

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40 words 26 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. civics
    the study of the duties and rights of citizenship
    So unfair about the lunch issue! accompanied by an angry-face emoji from one of the girls from my freshman Civics class.
  2. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    I assume they’re reaching out in response to Cam’s latest social post: a video of her talking about how the one off-campus lunch exit isn’t accessible to everyone.
  3. gauge
    judge tentatively or form an estimate of
    I gauge the force of his hug: light, friendly, the tips of his fingers just barely landing on my shoulder blades.
  4. reciprocate
    act, feel, or give mutually or in return
    I hold back, and reciprocate accordingly.
  5. rogue
    disposed to or engaged in defiance of authority or rules
    Just as Cam almost makes it inside, a rogue sketchbook slides off the stack and lands outside the door, taking a couple paintbrushes with it.
  6. fester
    gnaw into; make resentful or angry
    It’s almost winter break and I can’t let this sit and fester for two weeks. When I see Harper heading toward the side door, I go after her.
  7. discriminate
    treat differently on the basis of race, sex, religion, etc.
    “You lied to me about going out to lunch. You’d rather be with your boyfriend than support me. Even when our school is discriminating against me, you still put yourself first.”
  8. dwindling
    gradually decreasing until little remains
    Everyone is accomplishing things but me, and with the deadline looming for the Common Application, my time to obsess over every line of this essay is dwindling.
  9. generic
    having no special or distinctive characteristics; unoriginal
    Cam sent a generic “Happy holidays!” group text, but Harper hasn’t answered.
  10. breach
    make an opening or gap in
    They weren’t thrilled having to breach the territory of an overnight stay with the boyfriend they’d never met, but they didn’t say no either.
  11. thrive
    make steady progress
    In fact, disabled people are rarely, if ever, seen front and center represented as independent people who thrive in everyday life.
  12. anticlimactic
    ultimately disappointing after a promising or exciting start
    Your Common Application has been submitted.
    In the end, it’s the most anticlimactic thing. At the very least, I expected those little fireworks to light up my computer screen like when I win a game of Spider Solitaire.
  13. sullen
    showing a brooding ill humor
    During lunch on the first day back from break, Cam meets me at my locker with a sullen look on her face. “You won’t believe it—they shut us down.”
  14. livid
    furiously angry
    Wilder was livid—he tried to explain to her if they just made a change, this would all be over.
  15. proactive
    causing something to happen rather than waiting to respond
    I think it is wrong that the school still has not been proactive on the accessibility of off-campus lunch when you’ve had months, even after I followed up...but to tell my classmates—my friends—that they’ll get detention if they speak out...to me, that’s even more hurtful than your nonresponse.
  16. contemplate
    consider as a possibility
    I unbuckle my seat belt and contemplate whether to shake his hand while I’m sitting right here in the passenger seat.
  17. hankering
    a yearning for something or to do something
    “Like you, I grew up in Minnesota,” he explains. “When it came time for college, I just had this hankering to really get out into the world. I knew I wanted to go into something related to the law field I eventually found myself in, and I discovered that Prospect and New York itself provided me the opportunity to do that.”
  18. appeal
    be attractive to
    “Prospect’s Mass Media and Society department really appeals to me. I want to help minorities, but more specifically disabled people, be more visible in mass media, like magazines and the digital space.”
  19. status quo
    the existing state of affairs
    “That’s an extremely ambitious and worthy goal, Effie. When I say I like meeting young students, it’s for moments like this. The drive that your generation has to make change and alter the status quo is immensely inspiring, and I count your ambitions among them.”
  20. caveat
    a warning against certain acts
    “Well, clearly, I need to start with the caveat that I am not a current student, nor was I a student who navigated campus with any challenges. It has also been several decades since I lived on campus and in the city. I certainly hope that my alma mater has kept up with the times and made the changes that the current laws require.”
  21. alma mater
    a school you graduated from
    “Well, clearly, I need to start with the caveat that I am not a current student, nor was I a student who navigated campus with any challenges. It has also been several decades since I lived on campus and in the city. I certainly hope that my alma mater has kept up with the times and made the changes that the current laws require.”
  22. artery
    a major thoroughfare that bears important traffic
    He tells me about a path that cuts through the campus; he calls it a main artery of campus.
  23. avail
    a means of serving
    From being an active alumnus, he says he knows there’s been talk to pave at least part of the path to make it easier to manage for students with disabilities, but to no avail.
  24. nostalgic
    unhappy about being away and longing for familiar things
    “I myself have very fond memories of walking down that path in the fall with the leaves changing. It’s extremely nostalgic for me and many others in the Prospect family. I happen to know that many alumni are reluctant to make any changes to this path because of their strong connections to it.”
  25. succession
    a following of one thing after another in time
    “Effie!” She squeezes my knee three times in quick succession. “Baby, I’m so proud of you.”
  26. stance
    a rationalized mental attitude
    “I wasn’t happy with any of the so-called changes they wanted to make, and I think it’s going to mean taking a stronger stance.”
  27. confined
    not free to move about
    My hamstrings feel like iron rods after spending three hours straight in the confined space.
  28. ellipsis
    a mark indicating that words have been omitted
    The combination of brake lights and the lights that line the tunnel makes it glow an orangish red. I’m glowing too, excited and bright and full of anticipation. The tunnel hangs on like an ellipsis.
  29. stifle
    smother or suppress
    Behind Mom, Dad stifles a laugh as she presses the screen on her iPhone, taking a bunch of pictures in a quick burst.
  30. forthcoming
    easygoing and open when speaking or sharing information
    “Sitting in on a class?” the guy asks me.
    When I tell him, surprising myself with how forthcoming I am, he lights up.
  31. trustee
    a member of a governing board
    I want you to know that we’ve brought forth a petition to the board of trustees in regard to a partial paving of the path in light of Effie’s high interest in attending Prospect.
  32. waver
    move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
    I stand, pausing when I’m upright to make sure I’m steady. When I don’t waver for a few seconds, Dad takes the chair from behind me, and he starts carrying it down the steps.
  33. commute
    travel back and forth regularly, as between work and home
    Once on the platform, people wait for the train, commuting toward their homes, toward their friends, toward their futures.
  34. inkling
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
    When the next stop is announced as Herald Square, I get an inkling where we’re headed.
  35. excursion
    a journey taken for pleasure
    This is a last-minute excursion, and the only car available to us is Cam’s mom’s Kia, a compact that wasn’t meant to fit three people plus a wheelchair.
  36. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    “Calvin sent me a link to a legal forum that says we definitely could get arrested.”
    Even in the dark, I swear I see Cam’s face blanch.
  37. valiant
    having or showing heroism or courage
    Upon first look, the prize does not necessarily equal the valiant effort to win it.
  38. oblong
    deviating from a shape by being elongated in one direction
    Besides the view of downtown Minneapolis out the windows, it is the same as any other hotel pool: small, weirdly oblong shaped so that it prohibits any real swimming, with a tiny hot tub.
  39. conservative
    avoiding excess
    Harper goes whole hog with a cannonball. Cam giggles, but takes a more conservative approach and sits and slips in the pool from the side.
  40. assert
    insist on having one's opinions and rights recognized
    Perhaps maybe there is a part of me deep, deep down that really believes I can do what I want to. I only wish that she would assert herself loudly and more often.
Created on Fri May 24 16:35:33 EDT 2024 (updated Sat May 25 08:52:20 EDT 2024)

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