Personal Narrative: A Day At St. Xavier High School

On a cold sunny day in January 2016, I enrolled in Dierks High School as a seventh grader.I had many questions about meeting new teachers, classmates, and other staff. For me this was a very eventful day. The experiences of that day are memorable because they marked the beginning for me as a new student, hopeful of feeling like I belonged in a school where I didn't know many people.

Two years ago after Eric Garner was killed and Darren Wilson was acquitted the sounds of protest filled New York City. Union Square, the unofficial protest capital, was boisterous with the outcries of angry people feeling the pains of injustice. I was moved by the compassion of the masses and looked quickly to my school, Xavier High School. The beautiful Jesuit school on 16th Street was just a block from the protests and in my mind apt to participate in the work of justice that was to ensue. I was a sophomore, so I was about two years into the AMDG’s and the seemingly incessant reminders of a “faith in action” and being “men for others”. But in the face of slaughter, Xavier was silent and she became indifferent to racism and in doing so she

Today’s experience at my site-base was much different than on Monday. I came at the very beginning of the school day, so that I could observe the procedures that Mrs. Wright uses when the students arrive to school. Furthermore, I was able to participate more frequently during this observation than the previous one, which I appreciated because I was able to get to know the students better.

A true masterpiece of a bong, the likes of which I had never seen before, stood on the floor, surrounded by, Austin and Greg, two of my other friends. Charlie and I took our places around it.

“The school gave me a very solid background for furthering my education,” he said, “and it helped me greatly in expanding my background for my future. It gave me a desire to learn and to do the best I can.”

I was a new student at Mountain View who was in private school of 9 years and it was difficult at first. I didn’t have any of my old friends with me or my cousin who was a sophomore there. At my old school we didn't have three different lunches, we only had one lunch so that we could easily be seated with my friends. It was so different transitioning over from a school of four hundred to a school of almost nineteen hundred. All I knew was I had a long journey ahead of

My time in High School was made difficult from the constant strife and conflict between my parents. This made my home an unstable environment not fitted for learning or growing as an individual. As I got older and closer to graduating High-School, I began to find my own voice with the help of my mentor Rahn Fleming, which occurred at the end of my junior year. As a result, I came in control of my life and the constant feuding started to die down. No longer did I have to worry about the next scheduled court date, or the next time I would come home wondering what may await. I felt like I was always walking on broken glass for the longest of time throughout my life, until I began to voice myself and what I wanted. My parents came to realize this

I arrived in the school gym and noticed the abundance of people and noise. Then I noticed my friends. Elliot was on the other side of the gym floor and, Maggie and Nick close to where I was standing. We talked about how we would would like our teachers to be. I made my way to my first class. Math with Mrs. Aldridge, up the stairs, to the left and a few doors down. Mrs. Aldridge was a typical homeroom teacher, very nice and proactive. Her room was not as full of color than I was used to but it was typical.

The school gave me an insight into the sights, sounds, and smells of an urban, middle-class community. The principal’s assistant guided me to an empty classroom, where I met

 “Thank you sir,” I said as I walked in the auditorium. Similar to everything else in the school the auditorium was small, and smelled like cow manure from the farmer’s kid’s boots. Hamilton Community

I thought I knew everything about high school then I met Da’kevus Arceneaux. Well it was 7 o'clock in Ms. Phyllis’s English 1 first hour when De’kevus Arceneaux smoothly cruised into the classroom with a smile from ear to ear. De’kevus discussed with me how high school changed him and helped him grow and he answered with a bright smile and clear answers. Speaking with De’kevus, I learned more about the high school experience, coming of age and making future plans.

Elementary: We started off as just kids with dreams too big for our little hands to wrap around. It feels like ages since we’ve waited for that yellow school bus on a cold winter morning. It's been a long time since we’ve had field trips on those rainy days, or had play days on sunnier ones, or so deeply anticipated that beautiful sound that is the recess bell. Remember when we used to build giant winter snowballs, or slip in the springtime mud, or play grounders in the heat of the summer? I remember going to the school library to find the funniest Captain Underpants or the scariest Goosebumps, or the times we had to put up with the screeching of our recorders in music class. The times we sat together on the carpet reading stories, or the times we sat in our desks writing stories, or the times we sat on the gym floor at lunch, telling stories. Times where we made memories which have now become stories. Long time. Long time since we’ve had what seem like wild dreams of becoming movie stars or presidents, or superheroes. Not long enough though, since those dreadful

Explanation1: My Upper School friend, Daniel Zhao, telling me about this school changed my whole life. On a special particular day, I shadowed someone and after, I knew that I was part of something special.

The next day, we eagerly start classes, but first, we met in the common room at 7 o’clock in the morning for breakfast with my roommates and advisers. Now, unlike my closest friends at the time, I had a class during the first period, so I walked to the fourth floor of the science building by myself impatiently waiting for the math teacher to let us in. As we started class I realized that compared to everyone else there, I was completely lost. I understood nothing the whole hour.

Upon arrival on campus, I had no time to spare as I pulled into the student parking lot. I got out of my car and went straight to class. I took a seat, making sure I kept my dress down enough. I watched as Mason came into class and he sat next to me.