My Perfect Year In School

During the past three years of my high school years, I have been taking various rigorous classes, which all share a similar purpose which is to strengthen my skills and be ready for entering college, taking college courses and excelling in them. Moreover, during the past three years, I have been challenging myself by taking rigorous classes, having an A in all classes, and maintaining being ranked one of the top students in my school. In addition, to excelling in all my classes, at the same time I am able to work occasionally on my own throughout the school year, as well continue my hobbies, such as photography and riding my ATV, which serve as a time away from academic work and a stress reliever, enjoying life, and finding my passion. Through my high school years, I have learned various skills, which have helped me grow as an individual and prosper both outside and in academic work. Thus, I feel well prepared for what I plan to do next year, which is continuing to take AP classes and excel in them, as well being involved in various clubs, and helping the community. Moreover, I have been constantly pushing myself to my fullest potential and exceeding all expectation and standards, thus I feel prepared for what I am going to face next year. In addition, I arranged my schedule for next year strategically in the way that I will still manage to excel in my rigorous classes and have a large amount of time to be involved in various extracurricular activities, and help the

Freshman year could definitely be the worst year of High School when it comes to your social life. This is the year where you can expand your friends to more than just people in your grade. This year is also a sad year because it is when you find out who your real friends are. High School is all about gaining new friends and losing what you thought were your friends. When I started my freshman year all I heard when I started was that your real friends will show and you fake friends will vanish. In my case this did not happen. Yes, when I got into Highschool I did grow farther apart to some of my friends, but I would never say that they have vanished from my life or anything like that.

We go through life and make memories with family and friends that come and go into your life. One of the moments in my life that I will never forget is living in Colorado. When I was about 4-5 years old my mom and my dad was separated because he worked at republic steel in Massillon. At this time my mom lived in Colorado. Well, one specific moment in that time me my older brother Vernon and my twin brother Andre was running in a field near these apartments my mom was living in. I remember me, and my brothers were playing tag when my brother Vernon picked up a stick and we were looking at a socket that was in the building. Vernon thought it was a bright idea to shove the stick into the socket.

High school was never really easy for me, or school in general. I’ve never understood how people take it in strides, leaping from one perfect grade point average straight to an ivy league school. When you grow up in a small household with little money to offer you, school is never your main priority. These circumstances never kept me from trying to get an education, but they never proved to help me. I watched these children go to school in their shiny new sneakers, a lunchbox in hand, and a bouncing ponytail that screams “My parents take me to ballet practice every Saturday.” These children get perfect grades because they never have to skip school because their mother needs someone to watch the baby again. They race to the playground with their friends when the final bell rings, never worrying about how if they didn’t get home right away, they won’t get to eat that night. They moan when they have to go to soccer practice, never second guessing the price of the uniforms. To emphasize my point, perfection is a circumstance that I was never in. Perfection is an idea,

Freshman year was the worst year of my life. I took up toxic habits, lied to the people closest to me, and became involved in destructive relationships. However, I eventually overcame all of this to become the person I am today.

My best day was graduating from Goldsboro High School in 2014. Hundreds of proud classmates, including myself, stood waiting patiently in our blue and gold graduation gowns. Preparing for that moment to walking across the stage where I would receive my diploma. While getting settled in, I started to reminisce on all the goals, I accomplished in addition to graduating with close friends that I'd gained relationships for more than four years.

Growing up, the only constant was change. My formative years were spent in very diverse environments that were polar opposites of each other, from the San Francisco Bay Area to Orange County, CA to Dallas, TX. Having experienced the various beliefs and ideologies held in these vastly different settings, I have developed a more nuanced understanding of the world around me.

At the very beginning of my freshman year at Harris County High School, I looked at my schedule and I realized I was in Journalism. I was absolutely ecstatic; Jesus himself couldn’t make me any happier. The fact that I actually made it in made me all tingly and excited! At first I thought that Yearbook would be like every high school movie ever; all of the smart, unrecognized, but the necessary people got passes onto the football field to snap a few PERFECT pictures. Honestly, I thought every picture I took would be perfect. I never knew how to edit a picture beyond a snapchat filter, and I didn’t think I’d have to learn either. I thought every teacher would let you interview whomever you wanted, whenever you wanted. I never realized how hard choosing people to interview would be either. My biggest mistake was believing it was an easy free period.

The years of my grade school education brings out the worst years of my learning experience. My schooling was full of teachers who doubted the students daily, administrators who thought they were better, and students who thought education ended with an high school diploma. In John Taylor Gatto’s “The Seven Lesson Schoolteacher” Gatto analyzes the school system that I have seen before my very eyes; a school system that without saying so, systemically sets children up to live under the law of the government. A system that trains children to obey and stay in the box that the system places them in.

It was the first day of third grade. I was so excited to go back to school, to see some new faces and old friends. I woke up before my alarm clock went off just to pick out my outfit and make sure everything looked perfect. My older sister and I walked down to the bus stop, and had a short conversation with our neighbor before my bus came first and I couldn’t have been more thrilled.

Anyways, as my school was far, i need transportation support to get to and from school. My school schedule was after my parents time when they work. I had to take the RTD. This was critical part of my life , I'm growing up too fast i thought. Setting an alarm for myself and heading out down 7 blocks to the bus stop. As any kid, Waking up early sucks.

It was the week before the first day of school, something capricious happened that I would have never thought it would have happened to my mother. During our vacation in Colombia, my mother and I were in a car accident.

I still recall those nights with friends sometimes, walking on the street, looking at the sky and studying together. It was the best feeling.

Every day after school I watched Amelia run towards the High School, her backpack bounced with every step. Even now in High School she runs behind the school. She’s looking for something, or going towards something. I have never talked to Amelia. I have never seen her speak to anyone unless necessary. I also have only seen her at school. She seems to never leave here, as if something ties her down.

For years, I convinced myself that the story of my life began when I arrived in America at eleven months old. I tumbled through the clichéd white-picket-fence childhood, never realizing how impossible it was to completely discard the first year of my infancy. While I had always known about being adopted from China, I did not fully comprehend the weight of this detail until my late teenage years.