My Experience In High School

Learning that school is something to be glad about was one aspect I will never forget. School helps spark and form the character of discovery in one’s mind. To find problems in the world’s society and attempt to fix them so future generations will not be forced to make that same mistake. Other than social media, education is the most powerful tool to train an adolescent’s mind. Coming from the Nobleboro Central School I have this story. The first trimester was a long one, I had never presented a project before and didn’t know the first thing about talking out loud in front of a class. Also, my English was considerably bad with papers handed in, in rough draft form. My English is still a little rusty, although my past teachers have guided me past the few trimesters preparing me for an average High School paper. Concludingly, the first trimester of public school was a real learning experience with mostly a C average in most of my classes which left room for improvement. The second trimester I had an understanding of school and was trying more and more on improving how I could understand teachers. This time of education at public school was the aha moment wherein I could explore the true reasons of presentations, tests and open book exams. The third and final trimester was a matter of consistency in grades. Because of this, most of my trimester average grades were in the B+/A range. Thankfully, because of this I had finished the 8th grade with most subjects having a yearly average of a

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

High school did teach me how to solve math problems, take good notes, and ask for help when I needed it the most; but it didn’t teach me how to efficiently prepare for college. My high school taught me how to associate with people I didn’t even know. But, it never taught me to take notes down when the teacher was talking about crucial information, such as y=mx+b being on the test. It may have taught me that I could pass some tests without studying, but it never taught me how to come up with a study method for making sure I do an outstanding job on the 15 point Geometry quiz. Now that I’m in college I feel like I have to prepare myself for it and to succeed in the process.

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.

(Hook) “English teachers put more thought into a novel than the actual author did” (Teenager Post #4155). English is a subject that is difficult, and usually, it ends up being detailed and a lot of work because of the way teachers push their students. (Controlling Idea) When entering into high school, I was signed up to take the class Honors English Nine, which turned out to be a stressful experience because of the this in depth work. (GS1) In high school honors courses, I as Freshmen was faced with academic difficulty in some classes that I didn’t experience in middle school. (GS2) Eventually, more fun came with the more advanced classes while in school. (GS3) While in the honors classes, I as a student absorbed a lot of material and lessons from our teachers who pushed us. (THESIS) Throughout Mrs. Oles’s Honors English Nine, I experienced a range of (I) difficulties through her honors-level class, (II) balanced out by carefree fun, (III) and ultimately many learning experiences.

Some summers pass by and you barely notice, while others make an impact you may never forget. It happened to me this past summer while I was away at Louisiana Technical College before my senior year of high school. I opened my apartment door on that first day and I knew this was perfect for me. The apartment, the gym across the street, the classes and the independence were all so perfect for me! Those 36 days I spent in what felt like a different world taught me priceless lessons I'll never forget.

Sixth grade seem like a century ago, yet I still have vivid sometimes frightening memories of that wretched year. I still remember the day we learned about Idioms. How amazing it was to my sixth-grade mind that I could use these unusual phrases to describe what I was experiencing. Today I will use my most valuable sixth grade English skills and pair my favorite idiom to my experiences.

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.

Maybe it was the thought of what people felt about me, or the way I felt their glare on my back as I walked past a group of people. It could also have been the way that people stopped talking as I got closer to them and all that gave them away was the accusatory look in their eyes. The tables had turned suddenly letting me with no choice but to experience the way that other half lived. Living as a socially awkward student was difficult, but living amidst all the flying rumors was close to impossible. That fall was a life lesson that made me appreciate the friends I had and humbling me to see past the materialism that existed in the school to the vanity of it all.

In the late months of the two-thousand and fourteen first semester, I had begun my dangerous excursion into a precarious realm of stress and irritation to a juvenile network of literacy and instruction. I was beginning my first year of high school, which was still a new territory for me. I had previously attended at Howe middle school, but I was not prepared for high school. At my high school, the building is different than any other building on the campus. The high school building is on one continuous slab of the concrete foundation, but there is a gap in between the two halves of the building. In this gap, there is a connecting concrete flooring that is level with the two previous halves’ floors. The Howe students, faculty and I called this structure the “breezeway.” During a hot school day, the wind tunneled through the breezeway and brush across me like an ocean of cool air. Of all the memories in the breezeway at my high school, I can remember one moment where I saw something that changed my outlook on what I wanted to become.

Until the summer of my sophomore year, I was unquestionably shy. I was the kid whose raised hand lifted four inches off the table and who slouched over her sketches of strangers. That summer, I was forced to change.

The day I left home for the first time to start Junior High was a bright day, brimming with hope and optimism. I’d always done well at school, so expectations for me were high, and I had gleefully set foot into a new chapter of student life, relationships and experiences. Now appearances, of course, can be deceptive, and to an extent, this spirited and energetic persona of mine had only been a veneer, although a very convincing one. The truth is underneath of it all, I was deeply unhappy, insecure and fundamentally frightened-- frightened of other people, of the future, of failure, and of the emptiness that I felt was within me. Despite all of this, I was very skilled at hiding it, and from the outside I appeared to be someone with everything to hope for and aspire to. This fantasy of invulnerability was so complete that I had even deceived myself, and by the end of the first year, no one could’ve predicted what was about to happen.

I can vividly remember the feeling of excitement that overwhelmed me when I first walked onto the Peddie campus. When I got out of the car and had people greeting me, I knew that Peddie would be the place for me. My tour guide, Oliver Crane, completely convinced me that Peddie was the optimal place for me to do a PG year. After visiting the school, I immediately started on my application and eventually realized that I was accepted. About a week before heading up to Peddie, I started researching the school. I found mostly positive things, but also some negatives. However, this is expected of any school. I read that it can be difficult to make friends and that it is also hard being independent without having parents always by your side. By prejudging the school before I actually got there, I created so much built up anxiety and hesitation. By doing this I felt like I was already going into the new school year completely closed off to the environment. I eventually realized in order for me to have a successful and meaningful experience here I would have to be open to a new environment. I was extremely worried about whether I would make friends or not, whether people would like me, and whether the academics would be too challenging for me. After being at Peddie for two weeks now, I can say that these things do not present an issue for me because my maturity, determination to engage in the Peddie community, and motivation to excel academically has led to my success thus far.

In the summer vacation after sixth grade, I was ecstatic to become a student at Ball Junior High School. I wanted to meet new people, participate in extracurricular activities, and further my education. What I most desired was having a fresh start to school. After seven years of elementary school, everyone knew me as Angela, the so-called weird kid. Sometimes, the students would make fun of my voice, imagination, and sensitivity. No one at my school wanted to be friends with me. Even when a new student would transfer to the school, I would introduce myself in an attempt to befriend them. Word would get out and they did the same as the other students. As a result of that, I wanted to make new friends in junior high.

At first I thought high school was going to be a breeze, but was not a breeze at all. The classes seem very hard for me. I tried my very best even though I thought it was hard. I gave my freshman classes my all but still getting ok grades I wanted an A on my class work but I was not getting those grades. I felt like a big failure. So I started not to care I gave up really gave up. I started not doing my work and stop participating in class. I was skipping class not giving a care in the world. I kept getting into trouble. Always in the dens office and that was just my freshman year. My report card was really unacceptable I would cry when I see my grades but I know It’s because I would skip class and not do my work. Summer was coming up school is getting to an end and I got my report cards again and I see my GPA was so horrible and my guidance consul Mr. Martin called me down to his office to talk to me about my grades and that I’m starting freshman year all over again . He was telling me to get on track, it’s not the end of the world that I can still do it if I focused on my work. So I told my guidance consul Mr. Martin I would do my best.