My Experience In High School

It was the first month of my high school years, I was as nervous as an incoming freshman could be. I had no idea how long and strenuous my years at Bensalem High School would feel. As many others, I had a hard time adjusting to the transition from middle school to high school. Unlike others, though, I struggled about twenty

When I was in eighth grade, I was tentatively excited about moving on to high school. I loved my small Montessori school, and sometimes I still wish that I could slip back into the small group of students and just start my old classes again. Still, I had gone from an average student to an A/B student in my last couple of years, and I was feeling good about a new challenge. I was cagily optimistic about the move away from my small school, which had become a kind of second home for me, to a totally foreign and much more demanding environment.

I’ll admit it-the the first day of high school was nerve-racking, terrifying and full of surprises. I grew up watching movies and TV programs that showed high school freshman getting thrown into empty trashcans and their heads dunked into toilets. What if I couldn’t make it class to class on time? What if I was going to get shoved into a locker and made fun of? What if my schoolwork was harder than I expected? Fear overwhelmed me to no end. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew high school was an important time in my life. It would shape me into the person I was going to become and help me find what I wanted to do with my life. I was afraid of messing up and not being satisfied with the results. Adaptation alone was a stressful series of

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.

My high school years were enjoyable and they were the best years of my life. I was in a class of about eighty and I could call every one of them my brothers. Although I had a great time outside the classroom, I slacked off during my high school years and did not do the best I could have. I regret not taking full advantage of my high school and I miss those years more than any other period of my life. Academically, high school was a rough time for me. Battling with ADHD over the years was very normal to me, but it constantly got in the way of my schoolwork and caused countless daily distractions. Along with my ADHD, anxiety has also been a large issue for me. I am constantly worrying about things in the future that are not important

Of all the things I struggled with while growing up, school wasn’t one of them. The classroom was like a second home to me; everything, from the sights (desks in neat rows, spotted multicolored linoleum), to the sounds (chalk against the blackboard, shrieks on the playground), and even the smells (a combination of glue, disinfectant, and wet paper towels) wrapped me in a cocoon of comfort and familiarity. I enjoyed doing assignments, and getting to know new teachers. Purchasing new school supplies felt like a second Christmas.

When I commenced high school, everything was fine at first; it was a normal teenage school start. I was excited and had butterflies in my stomach to meet my new teachers and see new people. Walking down the busy hallways, I spotted all of my old friends from junior high that I haven't seen since summer break. Not only did I see old faces, I saw a lot of new faces as well that I didn’t recognize. It is to say, I adjusted pretty well in high school considering it was all new for me. I hung out with all my friends and made new ones as time went on and experienced new things I haven't before. Life was good in school until conflict started to corrupt and ruined my reputation along with my mental health, which forced me to make a decision.

When I spot palm trees appearing as I’m coming down south from the north, that’s when I know I’m in the Rio Grande Valley. The sight of the palm trees reassuring me that I’m close to home. Weslaco, Texas is a town close to the border that separates the United States and Mexico. The region where people fill the air with the Spanish language. The schools that I’ve attended from the Weslaco Independent School District has provided me great lessons academically and in the real world. Throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years, I've learned the importance of becoming successful.

After 3 years of crawling my way up from the bottom and finally reaching the top, I’d say that I’ve learned quite a bit about the ins and outs of high school. I remember being a freshman, looking at all the seniors and thinking, “I know way more than these people give me credit for”, but over time, I realized that I knew about as much as they thought I did, which was nothing. I wish that I could go back in time and give myself some advice.

My path at the University of Virginia has been a challenge and an enjoyment at the same time. On my first day, I feared that I would not fit in because there were students who came from areas with better education than my high school offered, and the class sizes would be way larger than what I am used too. In high school, there was never a challenge, and teachers held students’ hands all four years. Furthermore, this made me worry about my studying skills and how I would approach my studies if they become complicated. This was important to me because I was not used to making my own notes based off a teacher lecturing the whole entire class or not copying word-for-word off of a PowerPoint. I wondered why I was selected for the transition program, but I was very excited to start my studies off early and be prepared before the rest of the students moved on grounds. With the amount of work that we were assigned each night and the intensive class’ speed, I struggled with managing my time. I felt guilty for not being able to finish all of the reading that was assigned, and I felt like I was doing something wrong. The days flew by, and I suddenly felt like there was not enough time in the day to even eat. After talking to my graduate advisor, Sara Brickman, she explained that sometimes there is not enough of time to finished all of the readings that professor may give and not to stress it. The summer sessions taught me how to use my time better and prioritize my responsibilities.

It was early in the year of 2013 that I had thought my life would be changed forever. I was 12 years old when I first heard the news of my parents getting divorced. Devastated and in denial I had to learn that it was for the best and the last thing I would have wanted was unhappy parents. My Mother was offered a job in Charlotte, NC, where I currently live, that she couldn't pass up. When I heard that I would have to move from Akron, Ohio after completing seventh grade I was very nervous and terrified for my future. No one likes being the new kid, but to me it was almost a relief and a chance to start fresh. When we moved to Waxhaw, North Carolina I did not believe I would struggle has much as I did. The teaching and the ways they had taught their students at Cuthbertson middle had added more stress of being the new kid. I made friends fast and that's where I learned how to be outgoing. I didn't think anything could go wrong because my life was back to being balanced. When eighth year had been coming to an end and the pressure had been lifted off, my mother got the news that she could reclass me because I was not use to the learning, it felt like an enormous setback. It added much doubt to my mind and fear of what would come next. With the support of my mother alongside me and supporting me, the doubt I had about a new school began to wash away, but during this time my anxiety began to flood in. High school came around and it was never easy for me, but I learned to push

Almost three years of high school had gone by with nothing but straight As. However, my Junior year ended with a B printed firmly on my report card, yet I was proud nonetheless. I had worked my hardest in that class, harder than I had for any other. I stood by my mark, and if my best was a B, I was satisfied with that result. My pride would have been inconceivable to the Alexander of the years prior, though. I’ve been an obsessive perfectionist as far back as I can remember. I remember checking my elementary school math homework again and again, just to make sure that there were no errors at all. It was easy to be perfect when the work I got was easy and limited, but when middle school came and went and high school began, it was a different story. By the beginning of tenth grade, it was not uncommon for me to stay up several nights in a row, toiling in the office downstairs over a product that was already good but not quite flawless. As the minute hand whirled around the clock and the coffee supply dwindled, I became more tired and depressed over a goal I always fell short of. My teachers said that I did great work through, and that’s what mattered. Perfect work meant perfect grades; perfect grades meant a perfect college; a perfect college meant a perfect job, and a perfect job meant a perfect life. Schoolwork was all I thought about. Even the necessary act of eating was always accompanied with a pencil and paper. When winter break arrived and I had no papers to write, no

Why am I still here? There's no point in learning stupid facts and formulas. I’m sketching onto a generic college brochure. I hate being in this seminar. I don’t even want to go to college. I mean it’s pretty much pointless for an artist to attend university. Thankfully it’s easy to tune out the boring monotone voices surrounding me. High school is dragging on. I am a senior this year, but it feels like an eternity until graduation.

When I first attended Park fall of last year I was vastly unprepared for college, so when I entered as a nursing major I quickly realized two things. 1) I had no clue how to study 2) I’m not very good at anatomy.

Starting in my eleventh-grade year of high school I never knew all the changes I would go through. I attended Chickasaw High School in Chickasaw, AL. It was a little school, which had about five hundred students in total. I did not live in Chickasaw like all the other kids. I lived about twenty minutes away in Mobile, AL with my dad and stepmom. I went to this school because my stepmom (LaRae) was a teacher there. Also, I was like most girls in high school, I had a high school sweetheart named Michael Matthews. I thought my eleventh-grade year of high school was going to be a great and memorable experience until I found out some horrible news.