My Personal Experience : My Experience In High School

I never truly did have a high school experience, sure I had a dozen or so friends, but my relationships with them lacked depth. We may have seen each other on the weekends and laughed at each other’s jokes, but in the end it was entirely meaningless. We had almost nothing in common besides the fact that we attended the same school. The only reason I had made friends with them in the first place was simply out of necessity, after all, no one wants to be that kid that sits alone at the lunch table. Had we not become friends, each and every one of us would have been that kid.

The nights I went hungry to make sure my siblings were fed only fueled my desire to break the barriers that were associated with the poor socioeconomic status that I came from. Graduating high school was not expected of me, let alone attending college. This only motivated me to defy the odds and achieve what had never been done in my family before. I refused to let my finances or lack thereof limit me from being the first person in my family to attend college. I worked full time throughout my college career, and although shortly interrupted due to financial hardships, I overcame these obstacles and became the first person in my family to earn a

“Sorry, I can’t. I have homework.” That was the constant excuse I used in high school when my friends asked if I wanted to hang out. Junior year of high school was a rough year for me--not only was I taking six AP classes in one year, but I was also in the marching band which dominated a lot of my time. I was so invested in all of these that I forgot how to even socialize. I would negate a lot of my friends and family who wanted to gather and just spend some time with me. Now, don’t get me wrong, this does not mean that I was a loser by any means, I loved to “hang” and party and all the typical teenager tropes. It was just that year. That one year that I screwed myself over with a crap ton of demanding classes. That one year I wish I could do all over again. That one year that would have been enormously simpler had I been amicable enough to accept other people into my life. Which leads to the situation that most strongly defines what my dilemma during my junior year: I should have gone to the movies instead.

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.

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.

I graduated highschool a year early. I was seventeen years old and it was in the year of 2015. I decided in January 2015 that I was ready to be done with my high scool career,so I went to talk to my counselor and expressed to her that I was ready to walk the stage as soon as possible. The counselor starred at her desktop and got to work for about five to ten mintes, then she looked at me and said "Well, alright the earliest you can graduate is August 2015." I think I may have just stared at her blankly for a second, but I snapped back to reality and became eager to know the steps I would need to take to make this happen. Fast forward to the end of the school year, while everyone is excited for summer break, I was excited to enroll in my summer courses and get the ball rolling for graduation. August approached very quickly and before I knew it I was walking across a stage with a navy blue, silver, and white cap and gown on. The smile on my face was as bright as the sun and I walked with my chest as high as Mount Everest; I was proud.

I snapped into reality, seeing an annoyed woman standing in front of me with her arms crossed. I wasn’t paying attention, so I just sat there not knowing the answer.

When I was a freshman starting in Gladstone High School, all I thought my only goal was to actively participate in the classes that I needed to go to college. I was reluctant of high school since I did not know what to expect. I was not the athletic one but I was smart in academics. However, there was one event during the middle of my freshman year that presented a challenge I had to face.

Growing up I was a very shy person. I was the type of girl who hid her feelings because that's just what I was used too. My parents separated when I was only four years old. It was hard for me because I didn't have my parents together. It made me feel like it was my fault. They would argue about who was going to watch me when they went to work or how they couldn't afford somethings for me. I felt like like I couldn't talk to them about how I felt and that's why in school I would always shut people out when it came to my feelings. I remember teacher trying to talk to me but all I would do is shut them out, teacher after teacher. I knew that coming into Pritzker I was going to have a difficult time and I was going to have no one there to talk to.

Day one freshman year, my first thought was that I wasn’t going to make it. I had little faith in my ability to move forward in life. I thought, no I knew I wasn’t going to make it through high school for two reasons: I wasn’t smart enough and I wasn’t ready. In truth I was more than smart enough for the task, but I lacked the confidence. I felt I wasn’t ready for several reasons one being maturity another being anxiety. So throughout my freshman year I struggled to stay afloat because I didn’t believe in myself. It wasn’t until the following year that I started to realize that I was more than smart enough for succeed. My first hint was when I was able (with the help of a teacher) to catch up to my entire algebra class in the matter of a month. Note: I prior to that class I never learnt algebra not even a pre-version of it. So the fact that I managed to catch up to everyone else in the class in the matter of a month was amazing. I then went on to surpass the majority of them when it came to understanding why the formulas worked the way they did. Even with that I still doubted my intelligence, but not just my intelligence I doubted myself as a whole. The year went on and due to having little past experience with reading I was placed in a reading class (several reading classes actually). Although I took a reading class freshman year nothing is really noteworthy. But sophomore year was different, I was placed in a reading class with an older lady as the teacher. She was very

One of the most successful experiences I have had in my previous years in school was taking nine science credits in four years. This might not sound like much of an accomplishment, but when you consider that the requirement to graduate from most schools is three it takes on a little more weight. The reason I did this was that I want to be a doctor and that drives me to learn as much about science as I can. My top strength from the Gallop test was empathy, this helped me to get nine science credits in that my empathy partly drives my desire to be a doctor. While taking the science classes taught me a lot that will be helpful in my profession, it also taught me how to study and manage my time wisely.

The nerve-wracking feeling of school hit me a month into summer. When I saw the email regarding my class schedule for junior year, AP Chemistry and AP Psychology were listed. Anxiety was stirring within me. Although I had a notion of the challenge I am about to face, I chose to give it a shot. Having the same teacher for both classes, I sat in the same spot for two consecutive periods, feeling clueless. I was walking out of the classroom when my teacher pulled me aside for a word, she gave me a pat on the back, “You’re the only person taking both classes this year, Good luck!” I was not entirely sure if it was an encouragement or a warning. “What have I gotten myself into?”, “What am I doing this for?”, Countless number of questions starts to formulate as I made my way back home.

High School was the year that i started to open myself new doors and new abilities for my future . When I was in middle school I got influenced by forends to stick to the ¨cool¨ side and little did I know that none of that mattered in high school. When I entered high school I thought I was going to have to walk in with the coolest shoes and clothes and freshman year was the year that took me to realize that what we have now or how we look does not matter of who we want to become. Freshman year I was really naive and I tried to keep my grades high but still got the average. That year I was struggling because I never grew close to any teachers or friends I was really on my own. Sophomore year came by and I started to open my eyes and I knew that I was doing good but the year before I was struggling in math so that was a heads up that i was not going to be the best in math. One year that I messed up in affected me through all my four years. Although summer school was a big help it was not the same as if taking the class for a whole year. Not seeking for help in geometry was one of the regrets i have in highschool. I sometimes think to myself that it would have been an easy road for me if I would have gotten it but what is done is done and i focus on what I could do in the present. So sophomore year I would go after school ro tutoring and i would ask some of my friends for help. Even if I did not get the A that I wanted I was still proud of myself because I managed to pass

I have always been a shy person since I was a little kid. I was always nervous to go do things with people or to make a mistake in front of people. I remember in the 7th grade, the teacher called on me, and I had been paying attention but I got the question confused so I said something that was wrong. I felt the whole class just stare at me and laugh. Ever since then I have always struggled with self confidence. I lacked self confidence in just about everything, like what clothes to wear, what to say to people, talking in front of a class, etc.

When I first enrolled high school, I was following the current I didn’t have a plan for college or understand what I was going to do with my life. I had a challenging background when it came to academics; my scores were always “alright” but were never enough for Advance Placement courses. Constantly schoolteachers belittled me believing I wasn’t meant for learning. After hearing this I wanted to create a structured path that I could be proud of. I thought I wasn’t going anywhere in life until I challenged myself academically for a better future.