Personal Narrative: Age 11 To Fifteen

I remember the beginning of sixth grade, just like it was yesterday. Walking through the doors I had my backpack and lunchbox in hand excited to pass all classes with no problem.Unfortanately that thought was just a thought. Over the course of the year I failed tremendously by receiving my very first unsatisfactory grade. Before I have never received anything lower than a “B”, so to see a “C” it was heartbreaking for me. I know most students would love to see a “C” on their report card, satisfied with the feeling of not failing. Every report card I kept getting that same feeling of disappointment of seeing that “C” on my report card.

I used to excel in math, making over a 95 on all my report cards, passing every test, and understanding everything so clearly, while others struggled. In my junior year of high school, I started to burn out, and I couldn’t keep up in any classes, especially math. In fact, my junior year was the year I took Pre-AP Pre-Calculus. If I had only gotten the hang of it then, I wouldn’t be writing to you today. My senior year I tried my hand at AP BC Calculus. Because I did not completely understand Pre-calculus, I failed miserably in AP BC Calculus, and only barely passed for the year.

At 15 years old, and growing up without knowing the hardships many America went through to carve out a good life for themselves, I wanted to get the perspective of a family member and their experience growing up in a time much different from our own. Recently I had a chance to sit and talk with my great-grandmother. Having mostly grown up with my mother’s side of the family, also having my middle name being parallel to my grandmother on that side, and hearing he stories they would tell, I decided that I wanted to get to know my Dad’s side of the family a little better, so I picked up the phone and made the call to my Grandma Toman, as we call her. Being as she lives so far away, it’s hard for me to get together with her often, so this one phone call really gave me the chance to get closer to her. In this day and age, as the screens on our phones are getting bigger, and we grow closer to our devices, we drift apart from our families.

After all, math was one of my best subjects. I had never really had an experience where I just couldn't understand the concept of a math problem, of how it was solved and why. Our teachers has warned us back in elementary school, that one day we would hit an invisible wall and not ease through classes. That one day we would struggle with understanding a problem, a concept or even a subject. I had never believed them, thinking this would never happen to me, that I could somehow avoid this wall of confusion and just walk right through. But there I was, utterly confused and frustrated at a simple problem that everyone else could solve. Why was I not seeing it? Why couldn't I understand the solution? I asked myself. For the first time in my life I really struggled to get an A in a class. I had my sister tutor me almost every day, preparing for a quiz and then the next, and the next. I came in to my teacher for lunch and he helped me step by step. I studied for tests, and worked hard. And my work payed off. I got a high A in the course, and a lot of experience from it. It taught me how to work hard for something, to earn a good grade when you deserve it, and it gave me the skills I needed to get As in the high school classes I am taking this

I ended up failing but I wasn’t to upset since the whole school district ended up failing it was like going to school again. I went to summer school and passed the writing test. Sophomore and junior year were the hardest for me with the writing test. Sophomore year I did not pass my writing and reading, I ended up going to summer school again, and I still did not pass. After not passing the second time my junior year started. The school offered tutoring afterschool and I would have pullouts during my class. Pullouts is where you would be pulled out of a non-essential class for tutoring during school. After I spent all that time studying and practicing I still didn’t pass. I just didn’t understand what was wrong with me, I felt dumb and worthless. Each time I take a test I would pray to god, to help me through it a give me strength. But I felt as though he wasn’t listening to me, I was so ashamed of myself. I know I was at my worst when I was thinking about dropping out of high school. I felt like I failed everyone my mother, father and most of all myself. I had one last time to pass the test before my senior year. At this point, I was over the test I had no courage left in me to fail again But, I had no

So after talking to the teacher and realizing that this problem was not going to be resolved unless I took matters into my own hands I went to my guidance counselor a couple of times and we came to the conclusion to try Florida Virtual School’s math program. My counselor told me it would be hard because I basically lost a whole semester's worth of Geometry but hey I had nothing to lose. Turns out I really liked taking online math and was able to teach myself all of the math. I ended up getting a ninety-five percent in that class! I was also able to relearn many of the skills that I had once misunderstood in my first Geometry class. I was so happy and felt extremely accomplished, I also decided to study harder in my other classes and got straight A’s. Hard work does pay off! My semester GPA ended up being a 4.5. I was also able to take dual enrollment classes during my junior year which was very enjoyable because the class was in English which is one of my favorite subjects along with my Early Childhood Education class. although if I didn't decide to start becoming more independent and taking matters into my own hands none of those accomplishments

Last year, I took AP Calculus BC, and it was one of the most difficult subjects I’ve ever taken. In the past, I never had to work so hard to understand math. I never really had to do homework in my math classes, because math was second nature, and I thought that Calculus would be the same. I was extremely wrong. I was positive I aced that first test, but it was a near fail. I was devastated; sure, I’ve bombed tests before, but never in math, and I considered dropping the class. I kept putting off going to see my counselor, and finally, after a couple more failed tests, my teacher pulled me aside and asked me what was going on. I told him that I wasn’t getting the materials, that I was floundering in all of information, and that I was

Hi...I'm a middle school student,and I have been failing tremendously throughout the year. I been wanting to do better but I just interrogate if it still possible for me to pass. That's something I always dreamed of happening but never strived for. I know I will ... I do well if I find it the most interesting things in all my fields and make them distract . I had a 3.0 this year took A. V. I. D (honors class) but even with that I have never got great grades in LaL. Based upon these performances I feel I should just give up the dream I wish to pursue. I want to let you know I honestly never cared about my grades and just enough to get by. Throughout the year was hard the marking period one I did a bad marking period two I did great and marking period three I did normal.

Regardless of working hard, I failed my high school math course. From the start, my teacher was negative towards me. After receiving an A- at the end of my mandatory summer math course, I learned my previous failure resulted from two things: peer-pressure to succeed and lack of confidence. During university, this lesson really helped me in completing three

From 8th grade to 9th grade I’ve changed dramatically. I had pimples on my face, very long hair which made me look like a porcupine, and dressed unique. I was in a lot of drama and fights, but I didn’t mean any of that I was just sensitive. People thought I was a creep, yet I became everyone’s best friend. 9th grade is the best year for me especially since I got to meet new people. I changed my style in 9th, I got a buzz cut, I started wearing shirts that actually looked like it fits me, and pants that didn’t fall. I became a big sneaker head about Jordan’s, and started listening to artist I hated before in 8th.

Through Out elementary school I was bullied. I never really wanted to tell anybody, because I figured no one would believe me. They only saw what what on the outside of me which was a pretty, little, intelligent girl. Every time I got on the bus I was scared because, every day they would make fun of me. I used to think’’ Is it my hair, the way I dress, or are they just making fun of me.’’ Every night I told myself I was ugly and no one liked me. Then eventually I just stopped talking to most of my friends. I lost most of them. When I came home from school my step-dad used to ask me “How was your day?’’ I just said good and went upstairs and cried. I just felt like their was’nt enough room for me in this world. I used to even think my mom did’nt like me at one point. When ever I

Although I worked late into the night on countless occasions studying for my A.P. Calculus class, sometimes struggling to wrap my head around complicated ideas and difficult equations, when the final grades for first semester came out, I had only earned a B plus in the subject. Instead of being devastated,

I remember the first time I ever went to elementary school and I was scared out my mind. I really didn't want to go. I tried to run out but my uncle chip grabbed me before i could make it out the school. School was fun but I always wanted to stay home and chill.I didn't recall any favorite moments in elementary school.

Towards the end of my last semester of my junior year, I was struggling to pass Algebra 2-Trig. I had failed one semester and I had to pass the final to be able to pass the class. Math has always been my academic weakness growing. I always was able to just enough to pass, so passing this final was a complete struggle. I had to do a rigorous cramming session of the weekend before I took that final. I studied for about 30 out of the 48 hours I had of the weekend. I gathered a bunch of notes and went over everything that was on my test. I watched many youtube videos on how to do the problems and drank a lot of coffee. I made a bunch of notes and when thru a lot of paper.

It's Darlene Arzate from Tuesday/Thursday math 151 class. I am aware that my grade was on the edge before I had taken the final today (12/10/15). Fall 2015 was my first semester handling four classes, and it was honestly very stressful. I am aware that professors don't just give grades, they simply input what was given. However, I was wondering if there was anything I could possibly do, to at least earn a passing grade? Math has never been my strongest subject but I still spent countless hours studying for this class along with being tutored. The past weeks I sacrificed studying to my full potential for my other courses because my main concern was this class. I am genuinely disappointed in myself because even though I spent so much time and