My Experience In High School

The high school experience is something you'll never forget, even after graduating onto college and other careers. Toll Gate High School is a place where you learn who you are as a worker, but mostly as a person. Being in high school entails that teachers aren’t always going to be there to help with every situation or problem and that you have to fend for yourself with the large workload. This to me, was my wakeup call into true independence. Having independence is finally realizing that you are capable of doing things on your own without having somebody watching over you the entire time. After the eighth grade, I came to this realization. Whether the teacher was teaching the alphabet in kindergarten or teaching formal essays in eighth grade, I have always had teachers that would figuratively hold my hand with my work. I became so used to the fact that teachers would give me so much time for everything, that once I went to high school it just hit me. I have realized that I am fully capable of doing this, and the feeling of confidence turning in a report or paper will be genuine because it will be my accomplishment.

After graduating from Forsyth Country Day School, an academically, rigorous private school, I knew the real world or the real deal was coming to me and that was college. I wasn’t too worried about college because I knew my high school had prepared me good for college by my high school treating us as if we were at a university. We took college like classes; We even had a dress code. My high school had its own honor code that was took serious. It was a challenge that I conquered. My school was in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and I live in Ridgeway, Virginia. I managed to maintain A’s and B’s waking up at 6:10 a.m. just to get to school at 8:05 a.m. It was a hour drive down and a hour drive back. It was worth it as I can see now because it prepared me.

As I have grown up, I have been extremely lucky to grow up in a well rounded household with privileges that many students are not able to experience. From a young age I was enrolled in a private school and then moved to a public school program in a nice neighborhood with an impressive school system. I was able to enroll in club sports and be a part of anything my heart desired. My parents were both able to receive a college degree and go straight into the workforce with little debt from their college educations. I have been able to have dogs, fish, and a cat throughout my childhood, never realizing how much of a privilege that was until I began to grow older and meet people who had grown up in very different situations. Waking up christmas morning to see stockings filled and presents piled high, everything I had asked for and more. I've been able to travel all over the world and experience things that some people can only dream about. However, once I came to high school, I joined the Academy for Global Studies, which is a program that focuses on the global aspects, and has helped me to become more aware of the people around me and not focus

Each year of school you meet new people and experience new lessons. The school year comes with many hardships and downfalls, but it also comes with some good times. For me personally, freshman year was the not only the toughest year of school to get good grades, it also had some of my most traumatizing life experiences and lessons. Freshman year was not all bad though. For example, I met many new people that I cherish dearly in life and made solid relationships with new friends, teachers, and coaches. Ninth grade is the foundation for the rest of your high school career, so I tried my best to succeed not only inside the classroom, but also outside of the classroom, and I think I achieved my goal.

As I begin my final year of high school, I reflect back onto my last graduation. I consider myself lucky to have attended a unique educational program. The school I attended for 9th grade wasn’t traditional. It was a 25 student Montessori program, serving grades 7-9, in accordance with Maria Montessori’s 3-year education system. I was in 7th grade when I entered the program from a traditional school, and I had never seen anything like it. Whether students were bringing back vegetables from the farm next door, cooking coffee cake for their peers to enjoy, feeding our flock of 5 chickens, or ordering this week’s office supplies - I knew I wanted to be a part of it. Yes, we had the traditional math, science, English, history and language classes, but the unique practical life aspects made it so much more than just a traditional school setting. It was a community full of opportunity and new experiences. This new take on education sparked a love for learning that I will carry with me for years to come.

Before graduating elementary and jumping into middle school my homeroom adviser always advises us to try and enter the school program in this particular high school. The thing is to enter the program you need to take an entrance exam and get at least 85% on it. The first week of May 2012 my mom and I went to my elementary school to collect my transcripts that I needed to enroll for grade 7. At that moment and for the last time I saw my grade 6 teachers. Upon getting my transcripts I can hear my grade six teachers asking my mom if I will take the entrance exam.

When I opened my eyes, everything was spinning, the world, the things around me, and my head. Teammates grabbed me and helped me stand. I remembered the concerned looks on their faces, but I had no idea what had just happened and how it would completely alter the fall semester. It was my sophomore year of high school and I had gotten a concussion during cheerleading practice. My teammate was supposed to flip over my head, but the first time we tried this precarious maneuver, she got scared and stopped halfway. Boom! She kicked me hard in the back of my head. Fortunately, I was able to slow her fall with my head and shoulders, but unfortunately she knocked me out cold. After assessing me, the trainer said I had a concussion. The phone call to my mom isn’t very cleat in my memory, but the pain from the headache will be staccatoed in my mind forever. For the next couple days I stayed in bed unable to engage with the word. My memories of that first week are fuzzy, but eventually I had to go back to school. At first it was very challenging. Concentrating and remembering small things in class felt like an impossible task and I found myself struggling with the constant pain. I remember one day in my AP United States history class we were watching a movie and writing a summary on it. My head, like usual, was hurting that morning, but I decided to stay at school and push to avoid falling behind. It was not easy, but life isn’t east and sometime you need to push through pain - both

I watch from the beige colored sidewalk as my Ma pulls away in the Nissan Pathfinder that we dubbed as the ‘Blue Shoe.’ I turn and look up at the newly built building. There it stands in its newly built glory, the sun is rising behind the building and it seems to cast a halo effect on it. Little did I know it would be like Hell more than Heaven. It was my first year of going to a public school, I was a 6th grader this year, as I had been doing my schooling at home. With this came the ability to be a grade ahead because Ma said that I was to busy when I was younger.

Growing up, I had always been the best. The best student. The best son. The best athlete. Learning came easily to me. I don't recall having to study very much. I was a sponge of information. I loved reading. My room is adorned with books, certificates, and trophies, all of which I had earned. Naturally and easily. It didn't go unnoticed either. I was in Pre-K for the second year, because legally I was too young to start Kindergarten when my mother took a chance on a school that would allow me to start a year early. This school had more rigid standards (yes, even for a 4-year-old), but I was able to not only get into this school but excel. During my middle school years, my parents decided that public school was not enough for me. I noticed it too, but I was having fun. Being the best if fun. By the end of the 7th-grade year, my mom talked to me about attending Central Catholic High School. PCC was among the most prestigious private schools in the City of Pittsburgh. They were the creme de la creme of high schools. Most people call it the Ivy League of high schools. You can only get in by a combination of tests, recommendations, and interviews. It's a college preparatory school in every sense of the word. It too was the best.

I walked into Urban wearing Abercrombie and Fitch Jeans, a maroon v-neck t-shirt with a cardigan, and tan Sperrys. I had planned the outfit out the night before, wanting to impress my peers and show off my mature and put together high school self. I came into the big cold Urban gym in with my head held high, believing, no, knowing that I had made the perfect outfit to represent myself on the first day of school. However, my confidence quickly deflated and red rushed to my cheeks as I realized my mistake.

All my life I have attended my hometowns education school districts. I knew every student in school because we had all grown up together since preschool. I recall middle school being the best three years of my life for the reason I was very popular and had a boyfriend who I once thought was perfect for me. As I knew everyone, everybody knew me and wanted to be in my life. This was until I moved on to high school and that's when everything changed for me. I went from being this girl that everyone praised to a depressed girl that was loathed, and for that reason, it encouraged me to switch schools.

When I was young, I did not do well in school and was not very social. I was the quiet person in the room that did not learn or understand anything. School and life was only about surviving and not failing, as I put minimal effort into everything I did. Only motivated to not be a complete failure. I was as bright as a muddy shoe. However, this shoe would soon be renewed, as my 8th grade Civics teacher, Mr. Caslavka, polished this shoe.

It all started in middle school I got suspended a lot of times for arguing with my teachers. I would argue with my teacher about the smallest things such as talking while they were talking. It made me feel like they never understood why I talked all the time. I always tried to solve problems and most teachers didn’t agree. One time I disrespected my teacher and as a result I got sent to the principal’s office. Walking to the principal office I thought about how close my principal and I were. The walked seemed extra long because I would look back to see the small narrow hallway behind me. My principal understood me and always listened to what I had to say. Even though we were close I never wanted to face the consequences he gave me.

Junior high was a rough time for me. Puberty was going on at this time, and I was convinced that junior high was going to be the death of me. I will be sharing the good parts of my experience. I had so many wonderful teachers. I met my best friend; and the most embarrassing moment in my life happened.

It was a hot cloudy day in August. The very first day of my 10th grade high school day at Carolina high, was a day where I decided that I wanted to join the volleyball team. I was so nervous and also devastated because I did not have any money to get my sports physical done. I had until the first week of September. Which was the 2nd week of school to get it done, and this was a day where I had to overcome my fears and worries. However, I did not know if I had a chance to make it on the team or not. I had no enthusiasm to try out because I knew there were other players that were better than me. I thought to myself, “If there were other players better than me, then I would not make the team, and it made me discouraged.”