Personal Narrative: If I Had To Dress In High School

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

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 remember when I was younger, I used to have trouble adding and subtracting. It constantly confused me on where the "1" came from and why it's "carried". Something about it I just didn't understand and it frustrated me. I recall crying in the back seat of the car complaining to my mom about not having enough fingers to solve a complicated subtraction equation in a mathematics workbook my mother bought from family dollars. Then I would sometimes use my younger sister's fingers to cheat, in order to remain tranquil. Finally, my mom decided to sit down with me at the kitchen table to analyze the steps to conquer these monster problems. Once I comprehended this lesson, I was no longer in the dark. Everything after that was as simple as pie. In

When I was in eighth grade, I was tentatively excited about moving on to high school. I loved my small Montessori school, and sometimes I still wish that I could slip back into the small group of students and just start my old classes again. Still, I had gone from an average student to an A/B student in my last couple of years, and I was feeling good about a new challenge. I was cagily optimistic about the move away from my small school, which had become a kind of second home for me, to a totally foreign and much more demanding environment.

Although I did not initially like what Kayla had to say, I was still open to listen. “You’re kind of like that saying, you’re a jack of all trades, but a master of none.” It was essentially a compliment, but it wasn’t projected as one. Not knowing if I should have been thankful or offended, I nervously laughed it off and replied with a sarcastic thanks. I did not bother to ask her what she meant. Instead, I thought about her words and it took me a while to realize that it might have been one of the nicest compliments that I have ever received. I glanced back over at her and smiled. Kayla looked concerned, but I replied, “What you said means a lot to me.”

How can I say this lightly? The school dress code is screwed. Let me start off with saying that shoulders are anything but sexual or distracting. It’s literally a joint and a socket to keep your arms on your body. I think we (as students) should be allowed to wear tank tops during certain seasons, as long as they're appropriate.

In preschool, I knew the letters of my name but did not quite understand that their order mattered. “Who’s Yam?” my grandpa puzzled after reading his birthday card. One day I would be “Yma,” the next “May,” and on a good day “Amy.” As I walked the halls in middle school, my classmates playfully shouted, “Hey Yam Yam!” Fortunately, my association with a type of potato ended in high school, that is, until my junior year.

If I could go back in time and speak to my former self before I began high school I would tell myself a handful of things. I would start off by telling myself to take school more seriously. They always say high school is crucial for colleges, so keep your grades up! I never listened to them, I should have. Not that my grades were awful. I just could have done better. Taking my classes more seriously could have resulted in me being in honors, AP, colleges classes, etc. High school is like a roller coaster of emotions. You’ll end up losing people you thought you would be with until senior year, or forever. I had a boyfriend going into my junior year thinking I would be with him forever. As a matter of fact, we did not even last more than a year.

First, when I was four years old, me and my older brother started asking our parents if we could have a baby brother. After that, my parents started to laugh and told us that probably not because they were good with only two kids. Me and my brother were disappointed and decided to convince our parents no matter what. After a while, my parents got tire of hearing us complain about getting a baby brother and they told us that we were not getting one. Then, the next month my mother started getting a little fat. My Mom told me that she had to go to the hospital because she was sick. A few months went by and my Mom was getting fatter every month. I started to worry about my mom, so I started asking her if she was going to get better. After I asked her, she told me to go get my older brother because she had to tell us something really important. When I got him and came back with my Mom, I got really scared because I thought she was going to tell us that she was really sick. A few moments later she told us “Listen, remember when you asked me if you guys could have a baby brother, well, we you’re not going to get one but two twin brothers!” After that I thought she was lying and I started to get mad until she told me that she was actually saying the truth and that’s when I got shocked and I thought myhead was going to explode. That was one of the best days of my life.

Of the many transitions we must make in life, the transition from High school to something beyond is one of the greatest. For me the next step was going away to college. High school was said to have prepared me for college, but how could I be sure? One of the biggest and most shocking changes for me was leaving high school and being on my own. I was unsure of what college entailed, and i most definitely didn't know what to expect from my classes. This class was just the opportunity I needed. It cut down the worrying of what the school work will be and It has opened my eyes to what I should expect next year and the things that will be asked of me. It was a shock and a shift from what I knew. I have been really enjoying this class and I believe

I knew I was different, even at school, I would always get in trouble for the most stupid reasons. Whenever we learned about the small amount of history that we were allowed to be informed about, I would never fully understand why something happened. So like any student, I would raise my hand, ask my question, and hopefully get an answer. Although, it was apparently different with me because once my question left my mouth, I was yelled at over and over again. And each response from the professor would basically be “Because it did now shut up”. And of course this only worsened once my dad died and had a mental breakdown and started to interrogate everything. Even among my peers, I was more... what’s the word I want to use... socially out there?

On the 15th of January 2009, I sat with my 9-month pregnant mother, in our tiny one bedroom apartment, discussing if the baby would be a boy or a girl. My father and just left to work his night shift at the phone factory a few miles away and would not be home till morning. I had wanted a brother, so I would have a someone that would share my interests and play with me, but my mother insisted that we have a baby girl. I told her that having “a sister would be boring because she would be too girly and not like the things I did.” As we continued to discuss what gender the baby should be, it quickly approached my bed time 9 p.m. I did not want to go to sleep, but knowing that if I did not sleep I would not have the energy to play and go to school in the morning.

February 2012, my mom is going to have a baby. I was excited because I wanted a little brother to teach things too. I was the last child, but my sister was only one year older than me so I played with her. She did not like doing the same things as me, I didn't really play with her anymore I would play by myself. February 9th 2012, my brother was born, when he was born he was a premature my mom said he would be born in March like me, I wanted to be the only on one of my mom's children to be born in March. But because he's a premature he was born earlier than expected. When he came home for the first the day I was so excited. But my mom would not let me touch him and I couldn't take care of him cuz I was young. When I was younger my mom used

For as long as I can remember; I have always wanted a sibling. My mom always told me that she had to go through so much to have me and it was a miracle she was even able to get pregnant. I always wished that she would try again, that just maybe the second time around would be easier. When I was about 9 years old, my grandma, my mom, and I were eating at KFC. As I ate my potatoes, I saw a young girl working at KFC. I told my mom, “that girl is pretty, I wish she was my sister.” I don’t remember my mom saying much, but about two weeks later I was at my grandma’s house and she sat me on the couch. She said, “Taylor remember that girl you said was pretty at KFC?” I said, “yes why?” She said, “well she is your half sister, your dad was with someone before your mom and they had a daughter.” I wasn’t quite sure what to think. I was excited but frustrated that my parents didn’t tell me before. I didn’t think anything about it at first but as I got older I realized how strange it was that I just wished for a girl to be my sister and she ends up being my half sister. My parents always told me that I must have felt the connection.

Finally after what felt like forever we were called down to my moms room. I ran into the room with a huge smile on hoping she was there, but she wasn’t there. The expression on my face changed right away. The bed was empty and the room was silent, my mom wasn’t laying down with my baby brother or sister like I was imagining she would be. I started to freak out, I started to cry again. I thought something bad happened while my new sibling was being born. Before I was able to run into my grandma 's arms the door quickly swung open. The doctor was pushing the bed, there was my mom and my new baby brother. My mom looked like she was in so much pain but she also looked relieved in finally having the baby in her arms. I quickly ran into my mom 's arms with tears in my eyes. I’ve never been so happy in my life, and then I saw my baby brothers face. I’ve never seen anything like that, he was so cute. He had a little nose and chubby cheeks with a hint of red in them. When I looked into his eyes, I saw a little sparkle in his bright blue eyes. “What