I moved here with my parents when I was 6 years old. Both my mom and my dad worked very hard so they could get a nice house, and they sent me to a public school. School was confusing because I had a tutor who helped me learn to speak English, but I still had a very strong accent. One day, while I was practicing German with my tutor, the principal called me down to the office. So, I went down to the principal’s office.
When I entered his office, he was typing something onto his computer, but the moment the door hatch locked closed, he shut his monitor off, and looked up at me. “Jakob, your parents were going for a walk, and somebody attacked them,” the Principal said.
“Are they ok?” I asked.
“A waitress was taking the trash out, and found their bodies. Neither of them had their wallets, so we assume they were killed by a mugger.”
I couldn’t take what he had said. I burst into tears, and ran out the door, to the only person I felt comfortable around; my mentor. I ran back to the classroom that I do my work in, and saw her sitting at her desk, reading a novel. She looked up at me and started to smile, but saw that I was sobbing, and she jumped up, and asked, ”What’s wrong?” So, I told her what happened, and she gazed at me, with the most mournful look in her eyes. “I promise you that they are in a nicer place now,” she assured me.
“I know, but I already miss them,” I sobbed.
“Hey, if you would like, I could take you to a place that your parents took me to once,” she
Going through high school the days were all the same, except for game days. There was just something different about the culture of the school. You could almost feel the excitement in the air. Every “Good luck tonight,” that was received made it feel like the whole school was rooting for me. This was my senior year and tonight was an especially big game. The game that night would decide if we made playoffs and if I could step on the court as a Hawk again.
My transition into high school was as easy as taking a breath. I had always found school quiet easy and I never had to put much effort into getting promising grades. Before high school I had my whole life figured out, or at least I thought I did. I had planned that I would attend a law school or major in English. After a while of being in high school I started to realize many things. My parents did not have the financial stability to send me to a law school, I was not as smart as all the other kids, little by little I began struggling with a negative mentality about myself and my future. I slowly let go of my dream of becoming a lawyer and decided to join the Health Careers Academy. Soon enough, I began to have a deep interest in the medical field but then again I continued to have the same question; how can I afford going to a medical school? I did not know much about college or what it took to get into college. I assumed I just had to have a pretty transcript and that was all it took. My self confidence began to lower as I saw how other students cruised through their high school years so effortlessly. I never wanted to ask for help because I did not want to seem “dumb”. I would bite my tongue and hold in all the unanswered questions I had. My junior year, I was having a very difficult time. I had a tight schedule which consisted of almost all AP or honors courses. I slowly began to give up because I did not believe that I could do it. I let my grades slip failing almost
Before I turned four years old, my mother and I moved to join my father in Berwyn, Illinois. My sister ended having to stay back a couple of months so that she could finish her school year. We arrived to a nice apartment in the suburbs, it was a complete scenery change than what I was use to. Everyone seemed to have giant yards, bright green grass, large fences, and freshly painted houses. Back in Fresnillo, we had our large home, but it was rare for houses to have such large yards, so close to the heart of the town. From the time of the move until my first year in kindergarten, I had a bit of time to adjust, watching cartoons in English, I am not quite sure how I picked it up but I did. At that time my mother only spoke Spanish, my father is bilingual, but he would speak to us in Spanish.
Times were tough when I was 8 years old. However, it was at this time that my mum decided that it would be best for us to move out from our house and change my schools. An obnoxious bar just completed construction across the road and the presence of such homeless and corrupt men would only hinder my growth. That is what my single mum, that had to look after me and my two sisters, thought. But then again, who would think that living in downtown alleyways would be a promising idea for a single mum with three kids.
At age of 15, we moved into the United States because my older brother wanted to go to college in the United States. So my dad decided to move so my older brother could at least do his senior year of high schools here. I didn’t know English by the time; the first day of school at Rio Rico High School was scary because I didn’t
After sitting at the same desk for three years, I figured I was beyond seeing anything new. I was wrong. After that third year I saw a lot more than I thought I would. I went up to high school and everything was so much different. The grades were harder, the assignments were harder and the teachers were harder.
After waiting eight extensive years in elementary school and middle school, I was finally going to go to a new high school. I felt extremely scared, it felt as if I actually had butterflies in my stomach. I was excited to go to the large new building but it almost looked too big.
Changing from a private middle school to a public high school was definitely a huge adjustment for me. Starting in high school was already a big enough adjustment, but switching to public school meant more obstacles for me, such as meeting new people, different types of rules and a new class schedule. The biggest obstacle for me was to understand all the different options for each class. In private school, the teachers never explained to me what AP and honor classes were or how it could help improve my transcript for applying to college. It was not until the end of sophomore year where I completely understood that AP classes were for college credit, but by then it was too late for me. I had already taken multiple classes that I could have possibly
High School has definitely given me many potentials. Transferring from Leuzinger High School to Moreno Valley High School has made me noticed that I’ve learned a lot such as: how to problem solve, how to not give up on myself, and how to accomplish difficult tasks. For example, when I attended Leuzinger High School, I wasn’t open-minded. This is because I didn’t take any useful opportunity for granted such as tutoring or extra credit. Then, when I moved to Moreno Valley High School, I finally took a chance to take any opportunity into consideration because more people influenced me, which made me believe in myself. The first opportunity I took for myself was going to tutoring for honors pre calculus. Because I played sports, I had to balance
Walking to the principal's office. Hands sweating, really nervous. I open the door. The door slowly creaked open and I walk in the sweet smell of flowers hits me and I sit down. Different thoughts raced through my mind. What was going to happen? Was I going to get in trouble?
When that year ended and I was transitioning to high school, Mr. Joyner made a decision to move me, Ja’quez, and Emmaus Holder up to the high school team known as HYPE. I was unsure of myself at first, I didn’t think I could or would make it on the varsity team of the organization. But that year, I saw a great improvement in myself. I got straight A’s that school year. I started becoming a better leader in the organization. That year we went undefeated and won the NC Step Show Championship, the Battle of the Border championship, and we even won the CIAA step show in the high school division. At one point, I was told I was going to be the next captain of HYPE. But, it was given fairly to my Immanuel Thomas and he is doing a very good job and has really taken up the mantle as captain. In the organization, I am know as “Grit” because of my impressive grit face. It originated from the first CIAA the organization ever went to and I was told I needed a new and
The summer of 2012 was the start of the downward spiral into my high school career. This ass hole guy decided to dump me and my dumb ass kept going after him when I know I shouldn’t have so I got hella drunk one night (as a 14 year old) and made this hilarious video with my bff that people hated apparently even though we looked hot. And so we got kicked out of cheer lol. Stupid mrs hatfield even had the vid on her phone like wtf lol. So yeah great start to high school.
When I was at Tad Gormley watching the Blue Jays and realized I couldn’t stand, I learned not everything goes as planned. My parents were helping my sister move into college, so I was attending the Jesuit football game with a babysitter. During the celebration following a score, I knocked my water bottle onto the track; so, in order to retrieve it, I decided to jump over the fence that separates the field and the stands. It didn’t seem like a monumental task as I had jumped over that same four-foot fence multiple times that game alone. Unfortunately, I was standing at a poorly patched area in the fence and as I jumped my foot barely caught the edge of it. Consequently, I fell awkwardly, but I rotated my body to avoid hitting my head and ended
I just wanna say I'm sorry for replying late or being unresponsive for the few couple of weeks, about things related to AIESEC. This is because I have decided to take a year off and therefore, step out of my position. :(
Back within seventh grade towards the start of the school year I was put into a course called "Advanced Art" and I sat with a friend. My friend, Javier, wasn't suppose to have the class so he was sure to leave within weeks. During the time with him I noticed this big group of friends that seemed quite interesting to me. Around the time when he had his classes changed the song "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus came along and I drew a funny picture about it. I introduced myself into the big group and at first they seemed off about me but then they accepted me, especially this one girl named Tiffany. We had a few classes together so we would sit together and this was a start of a story of best friends.