Overcoming Obstacles In High School

Beep! Beep! Beep! The piercing sound of my phone alarm jolted me to sit upright. Reluctantly, I woke up disregarding the fact that I had only slept for five hours. The lack of sleep tempted me to return to bed, but the uneasy feeling I had of missing my first day of high school convinced me otherwise. About an hour or two passed after this incident, and I have arrived at Passaic County Technical Institute’s campus that looked as if the land continued for miles with almost no clouds in sight. I entered my first year of high school as a lonely student who did not know what to forecast. However, looking back on these last four years, one thing is for sure is that I have encountered obstacles that other people may not have had the pleasure to face.

When I think about the reasons why I want to teach one reason always comes to mind. That look on the child’s face when they first see you each day. They are so happy to be there. They know that I will always be there for them. I offer them a sincere greeting and a caring environment. We joke, play, and learn together, all while making a unique connection. I love that the students teach me just as much as I will be teaching them. They teach me to live simple and stop worrying so much.

When I was six years old I accepted Christ. I grew up in a Christian home and was given a Christian education. My faith has been a big part of my life. It has gotten me through the good, the bad and the ugly. There have been dry seasons in my faith, but even in those times God has remained faithful. Each day God is teaching me something new about who He is. He is continually growing me to be more like Him.

I was born to a Christian mother I had 7 brothers and sisters we wasn’t perfect but we all loved the Lord. I went to church every time the door was open I loved Sunday school and loved to sing the good ole songs that Baptist Churches sing. I am now 52 and my mind has never changed I love the Lord with all my heart and soul he has helped me so much I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for him.

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry B. Adams. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to play a big part in children’s education, which is why I have decided to enroll for an education course. I believe that educators have a lifelong impact on their students and on the development of resilience. Thus, I aspire to inculcate my love for learning into the next generation, by influencing and inspiring children all through their formal education.

I became a Christian when I was 8 years old in the summer between 1st grade and 2nd grade, I grew up in a Christian household, and we went/still go to First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, TN. As I grew up I found that I thought what it meant to be a Christian was by going to church, believing in Jesus, and being kind to others, that is what I thought until high school, I knew there was much more to it, but I did not know where to start. Once I hit high school, I became more grounded in my faith. I developed a great Sunday school group all four years that I was blessed to have and they were not afraid to go deeper and I also joined the last two years of high school growing in a Wednesday night group. I thought of my Sunday school teachers

Since birth, I have been a Christian. Specifically, I belong to the United Methodist Church. My mother was a Catholic, but had decided to become a United Methodist and to raise me in that church. I have always believed in Christian beliefs such as God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, as well as having read Bible stories since childhood and participating in Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, retreats, and many other things. I have many essential memories of being in church, from asking the pastor to allow me to finish the bread and grape juice from Communion at the end of every Eucharist Sunday service (she always obliged) to being certified as a Youth Lay Servant and giving a few sermons. My faith has been a big part of my life for all nineteen years of it, and I try to live my life in a way I believe God wants me to.

These past four years in high school have been full of obstacles for me. My freshmen year my parents were going through a divorce and it was a big transition for us as a family; my mom had a hard time maintaining jobs and I had to grow up quick to help out around the house. The next few years my mom struggled with many different problems in her life which led to her getting evicted amongst other things. I moved in with my dad permanently and now life at home is getting better. I struggled with many things at home through high school but as I reach the end of my senior year those obstacles have only made me a better person. College is something my family is nervous about because my dad is raising four kids on his own and will have trouble supporting

“You are not good enough.” Those are five words; no child or adult ever wants to hear or tell themselves. On the other hand, life will always be filled with occasions like these where we believe life plainly just sucks; where people, including ourselves, will believe we are so worthless, insignificant, and dim-witted that we are incapable of achieving something grand. In fact, no matter how much we deny it, these are the experiences that will always stick with us and affect us in one way, big or small. Yet, the thing many of us fail to discover is that the best opportunities come from these moments where proving we are capable of something is most vital. Thus, I have gone through many obstacles in elementary school that I am proud of because it has carved the successful and fortunate person I am today in school and life.

When I was younger my parents and I would go to a church often and then we had stopped for a while. My mom then registered me into Catholic church classes when I was in fourth grade so I could do be baptized and do my first communion. After I had got baptized and everything I started to question which religion was the right path. Then I started questioning Christianity specifically.

Children are with teachers the majority of the day. Children are influenced by what they see and why they are around. Not only are they teaching them academics, but also manners, sportsmanship, and self worth. These are important factors that children need in everyday life. This is why a teacher’s job is so important. Most would say that teaching would be a hard job. But, I feel that it will be easy if you win your students over. I know that the rewards in the end will out weigh the cost. Watching a student master a new task is the reward I am after.

Throughout college, there will always be obstacles that a student will face. Though some students make it through the semester without much trouble, I am not one of those students. It’s not always easy to get through the semester smoothly when you constantly have responsibilities to take care of. I get extremely stressed knowing that I have a big paper due or a math quiz that I need to do well on. If I have various assignments due at the same time, I usually tend to get overwhelmed. I deal with different obstacles on a day to day basis that can impede my success as a college student. Obstacles to my success this semester are poor time management, procrastination, and technological distractions.

Growing up my high school years were my greatest achievements and worst struggles. A series of negative choices led me to lose my way. When it came to pride, I had too much of it. Seeking or accepting advice I decided wasn’t necessary for me. I became the rebellious teenager that my parents became outraged by. Facing reality, I put on a mask to be a person I truly wasn’t nor wanted to be.

Since the day I was born my parents took my sister and me to church ever Sunday. I grew up in a loving Christian home and was encouraged at an age where I could fully understand, to purse a relationship with Jesus. I accepted Christ into my heart when I was in the second grade and was baptized in the fourth grade at age 10. Growing up I have always been super involved in Church. I have a heart for people and love serving. Since 3rd grade until now, my senior year of high school I have been on the leadership team with my youth group. I can not imagine my life without Jesus as the center. I have been pushed to step out of my comfort zone and because of that I have grown in several different ways. For example, I am an extrovert and enjoy getting new people, but never liked public speaking as I felt nervous and intimidated. By the many adult leaders, and pastors coming along side of me and encouraging me to step of on my comfort zone I now highly enjoy speaking and spreading the truth about The Lord in big groups of people. I am so thankful for the many God loving people that have come in my life and helped stretch me. Jesus is my entire life and I am nothing without him.

This is a completely opposite project from our first round, we are finally living in society again, no longer out in the woods everyday(which I admittedly miss), and are working with people 24/7. Working in a school is also very emotionally taxing, however, seeing the immediate gratification of a kid finally understanding what you are teaching or running up and hugging you because they passed all their classes and were so proud of themselves makes it all worth it. Although I spend my day teaching, I am shown something very important by a child everyday. The kids I work with show such love and care for their friends, cousins, little brothers or sisters, and teachers that it astounds me. They make me reevaluate what is truly important in my life and make me immensely grateful for the family I had and for growing up in such an amazing place that I did. It amazes me that even with so little people will be so giving and I believe that these kids represent the best in humanity, although at times they frustrate me watching them grow and learn has been more beneficial than I ever thought it could