Personal Narrative: George Street Co-Out

One thing that does not interest me anymore is going outside. I used to always love going outside but not anymore that is like the top uninterested thing i'm into rite now. When i was a kid i loved going outside, after i got older i only go outside on the daily-bases now that i'm more mature.When i get in trouble my parents make me go outside for my punishment. Outside is just not interested to me

This past year, I have been apart of Naperville Central’s brand new Special Spaces club. When my friend approached me and asked me to join, I agreed even though I had no clue what I was involving myself in. In retrospective, I can honestly say that becoming a part of Special Spaces has been one of the most meaningful, fun, and fulfilling experiences I have had in high school.

When I was 14 years old, I found myself in a bit of trouble. Acting out, being disrespectful, starting fights, dropping out of school, fighting with my mom, running away, etc. I ended up getting in trouble with the law, and became a warden of the state of Oregon. Placed in Donald E. Long (juvenile corrections facility), B.G.A.S. (Boys and Girls Aid Society), as well as Pettygrove (home for troubled girls).

I never thought I would be labeled an outsider, a misfit even. As I trudged my way through the halls of my small town high school, I would endure the gazing pairs of eyes, that belonged to my peers, followed by whispering and often times some laughter. I always used zone out during those repetitive speeches and commercials about the effects of gossiping and rumors; never did I imagine that one day I would be on the receiving end of of the everyday potshot. Growing up I was always the center of attention, the one everyone yearned to be friends with, never was I the antisocial child in the corner with nowhere to turn… not until high school. They say high school changes you. They say high school accounts for some of the greatest years of

Have you ever seen the TV show the “Walton’s?” If you have, then you will definitely be able to identify how unique the place was where I was raised. I was raised in North Arkansas in a small community called Onia. In fact, the road that I lived on was called Lawrence Road. It was named this because all of my relatives lived down this road. My Grandpa, who is now a retired Baptist preacher, lived down this road along with his brothers and sisters. The church that I grew up going to was also pastored by my grandfather for over thirty years and it was about two miles down the road. The community bordered the Ozark National Forest so it was very rural and isolated. Most of the traffic on Lawrence Road was mainly the people who lived

Today, we reached The Dalles. Nate told us we have two choices. Either we can float down the river, or we can go around Mt. Hood. We talked it over, and almost everyone agrees we should go around. I'm certain everybody remembers Ezekiel and the river, and none of us want to go through that again. So we start on Barlow Road, which will take us around the mountain, tomorrow. Things aren't getting much better here. We are all so tired. I think that once we get to Oregon, I will just sleep through winter.

I’ve always been an outsider, it’s been hard for me to build friendships and relationships. Not too long ago, there I sat in the corner of the room in the way back, trying to hide from the world, and be myself. I didn’t really want to get involved with anything or anyone. I was afraid to open up, talk to others, maybe because I was afraid to get rejected. Until, I met the best people I could ever meet, my best friends Marisa Mendoza, Jessica Contreras and Deseray Reyes, the ones who up to this day have sticked by my side, at my best, and worst moments. They have all been a big part of my life, I can enjoy every minute I spend with them. For me, they aren’t only my friends they are like my sisters.

One of my best friends, Sydney Lane, is a girl who had lived in Colorado Springs, CO her whole life and when she graduated last spring, she decided to take a gap year. We had discussed our mutual interest in traveling, but we were not sure about how to find the opportunities. However, she took the initiative to become a part of multiple programs and go completely out of her comfort zone. Leading up to the day she left, she was terrified of leaving what she had been accustomed to. She left in September, afraid, and the next thing I heard she was having the best experiences of her life. Sydney blossomed from someone who survived on grilled cheese and hung out with a close group of friends, to a girl enlightened by the world- all within a few

In Oklahoma, where there are bloody rumbles and serious crimes made here in this big city, but there is a tiny sixteen year old boy living in the middle of it all, and that was me, Johnny. The Greaser was like a second home for each other. They were rough, old fashion, and have been In rumbles where breaking your arm wasn’t a serious injury, but they help another out. I, in the other hand, was not like them. They say that heroes need a dark past in order to be stronger in the comics I read, but that didn’t happen to me. I was abused by my own parents and I got jumped by those rich Socs. They left scars and pain for me, I felt like I’ve gotten weaker after this, not stronger.

The first life skill that working in a grocery store taught me was how to relate to other people. From the day I got my interview to eventually working as a cashier, I have learned how to interact with managers, coworkers, and customers. While each of the aforementioned groups requires unique approaches to interaction, dealing with people generally demands tact, regardless of your relationship to them or your mood at that moment. Furthermore, my interpersonal skills developed while I received training on the register. I had to learn how to process verbal instruction, while performing the requested operations on the register. Additionally, I learned to ask for help and clarification when I needed it. Working in a grocery store has marked my transition into adulthood through the sharpening of my interpersonal relationship skills.

From an early age, I learned the ropes of how to interact with customers, and by the third grade, I thought of myself as the most business savvy person in my class. In order for me to navigate in a business setting, I was required to develop a more grown-up demeanor while at the store because it was no

I became acquainted with George Stemm after I graduated from Globe High School a little over eighteen years ago. George attended the rival Miami High School, so while the town was small, we somehow never crossed paths until meeting at the party of a mutual friends’ the summer of my graduation. At 33 years old, George has lived in Arizona his entire life and seemed to be the perfect person to interview for this subject, as he comes from a line of native born Arizonans. “I’m the fourth generation of my family to be born and raised in Arizona,” he says as he proudly displays the Arizona state flag he has tattooed on his right arm. Could there be a better subject to interview on an Arizona native’s opinion of tourists?

It was a warm day in Los Angeles California. The soccer field had green grass and a lot of kids playing on it. There is a 9-11 year old team playing. The parents of the kids pay the coach so their kids can play on the soccer team. Derek is a is a dark haired boy. He's 11 years old, and he is a better soccer player than Chris is at the moment. Chris is an 11 year old boy who is Mexican and loves to play soccer. Chris’s family is a bit more poor then Derek's family.

a lot of my life was spent on a place that my brother and I call Pappas Road this road is where I did a lot of my growing up. the people that I love most all lived on this road my aunt and uncle Bonnie and Clyde I lived on this road and my grandma and grandpa lived on this road therefore spent a lot of time here on this road there are two Curves in it we call them the first and second corner my brother and my grandpa and I would always go walking on this road mostly in the summer spring and the fall or really anytime it wasn't too cold and he would always take us to the first or second corner he never wanted us to go past there because he didn't want us to get too close to the highway. from the time I was born till the time I was probably seven or eight the road was gravel and since I wasn't tall enough to see out the windows of the car I always knew we were on Papa's Road when we turned onto a gravel road I feel like this road kind of grew as I did because it went from a little gravel road to being paved in completely different as I did Growing Up.

Strolling down Oxford Street in all its beautiful eclectic grottiness, I paused past the liquor store’s sign “Lick Her here.” A mischievous smile overtook my face as distant memories came effervescing to the surface.