The balloons are out, the flowers are in bloom, I smell summer. I smell a summer like no other. Not because the groundhog came out early this year, or because I was one year older, but because I was a graduate, from Gilkey International middle school (finally). Sophie comes up to me yelling, super excited for the night ahead, graduation. As we rehearse our ceremony, in our high inched heels and dainty fake eyelashes Charlie runs up behind us screaming in our ear jumping us out of our own skin.
Reflecting back I don’t think there’s a single thing I’d change, from the very few bad times, to all the great times of laughter and pure awesomeness. High school has been fun, and I am going to miss it, but although my time at Skyview is over, it is only up to me if the fun never ends. I’ll miss the sports, winning a state championship, going to class and all the inside jokes, playing sports that I’ve never played before and making new friends with all sorts of amazing people. But most of all I’ll probably miss my friends, and all the weird stuff they say and do and how awesome they make every moment that would otherwise be not nearly as cool. Yes, I will miss them.
I reaped the rewards of this as much as possible in middle school as I made many new friends by participating in sports and ASB. I remember as my eighth grade year came to a conclusion about how excited I was to continue playing sports and as a result, make new friends throughout my upcoming four years of high school. This all came to a drastic halt when my parents no longer allowed me to participate in football due to the increased physical competition and subsequent unsafe nature of the high school game, and when I was cut from the freshman basketball team. For the first time in my life, I had found myself unable to participate in the activities that had my brought me happiness and academic motivation. For a while, I lost all motivation to participate in my school and as a result, I didn’t participate in any extracurriculars and lost my perfectionist goal of achieving a 4.0 my freshman year.
I hoped that this was the last time moving locations, as I wanted to settle down and have the opportunity to fit in and make the most out of my high school experience. That wish was quickly knocked down as my new school immediately made me feel like an outcast. My new school was predominantly white and being a new student of a different race, it was really hard for me to fit in. Even though things
I did not want to talk to anybody about what I was going through, I was miserable, I hated myself. At the end of of the semester, I knew I was going to be suspended because I knew how I performed. I wanted to run away, I did not want to return to my home. I experienced a major depression
That day, she told me to take it one step at a time and not to be afraid to step out of my comfort zone and push my limits; this gave me the comfort to move on with my life. That next week, I was immediately enrolled in middle school in the United State. My schedule consisted of the same old boring, bland things, “get to my classes, and then go home.” I never made time for company, I didn’t socialize with anyone, nor did I join any activities or clubs.
It was the end of my seventh-grade school year, 2014. On the afternoon of that hectic day, I sat on my bed crying as I thought about all the possibilities of what could happen to me. Would I have any friends? Would I be a different person?
As I reflect over my life, I am inundated with memories. Memories of verbal abuse, mental abuse, and emotional abuse. Memories of not only just feeling alone but also being alone. Memories of being left on the doorsteps of the Department of Human Services along with my two younger siblings at the apex of my senior year. Memories of being voted to be on the homecoming court, memories of making the cheerleading squad.
High school has impacted my life in so many ways. High School taught me so many things, from personal relationships to creating a relationship with my education. As a freshman, I made a huge amount of mistakes and I regret doing foolish things, but I’ve realized, I was only maturing into the young adult I am today. Freshman year, I was out of focus and I was only trying to find myself. I would also prioritize other things and ignore my parent’s advice, where they would tell me to focus in school and give it my full attention.
According to Zooey Deschanel, nothing can be as hard as middle school. I was a big scaredy cat when I started middle school in 5th grade. My guts were flipping and flopping on that first day. Even though I didn’t know any teachers or friends, I made new friends and met new teachers. I had Mrs. Wherley as a homeroom teacher, she was nice as pie to me.
No two people in this world go through the education system the same. Everyone's different educational experience shape the way they think about education and shape the kind of person they become. Because my educational experience was not the same as anyone else's, I have been impacted differently than others because of my teachers, parents, and school system and those impacts are what made me want to become a teacher. Let's go downtown for lunch. A phrase I heard growing up in my home town of Kendallville, IN quite often.
My high school experience was a long, frustrating learning experience. I didn’t know what to expect, or what I was getting myself into. Nobody gave me the tools to understand the main focus of each year. I am going to give you tips and advice on how to succeed in high school. I will discuss 9-12th grade along with what to expect each year.
When children are born, they are like a blank canvas, because they have an absence of skills and life experiences. As they develop into teenagers, they essentially learn skills that guide them towards developing their thought and decision-making processes. Eventually, everyone reaches the age to where they must attend school. Learning how to interact with others, and getting an education is imperative for a child. School teaches children how to interact with one another, and it helps them develop lifelong relationships with their peers.
Personal Narrative Essay Believe it or not, sometimes a gracious action can bring a huge influence on a person. When I read the introduction that instructor Heller wrote, there is a sentence she wrote: “Sometimes the most influential moments in our lives are smaller moments, events that we may not recognize as influential until years after the experience.” For some reason, I related to it strongly. My story is about my high school experience. Also, I will share some significant moments in my life, and how these smaller moments changed my personality.
High school grows you into the person you are. I have great memories, good and bad, some learning experiences and some that I’ll take with me the rest of my life. My high school experience has influenced my development as a person inside and outside of the class by making me more independent, choosing friends wisely and teachers motivating me to attend college and accomplish goals I have set for myself. I have gained my independence slowly throughout high school. The importance of being independent is being secure with who you are and what you believe in.
