Personal Narrative: Moving To High School

Contemplating back on my high school journey, I began to recognize and appreciate the life changes I experienced and the imperative lessons I learned throughout those four years. If I had to choose several words to describe my high school experience, I would begin with eventful, challenging, and memorable. High school afforded me many experiences that continuously led to stressful and challenging encounters. Being involved with the Ambassador Program and the National Honor Society was one of the greatest decisions I made in high school. Both clubs provided me with numerous life-changing opportunities that will continue to have an impact on me for a lifespan.

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

At first, I was panicking. I was panicking a lot. We had a few days of winter break left, which also signaled starting my new school, Reynolds. It was hard saying goodbye to my teachers(a proud teacher's pet) and friends. Luckily, most of my friends had my number so I could still communicate with them. Nevertheless I was still overthinking everything that could happen; what if everyone hated me, what if I did not fit in, and most importantly, would my best friends and I still be as close?

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.

Let’s jump ahead again, this time to my first day of school. Morris Knolls High School is one of the top high schools in the US. Their curriculum is rigorous and their standards are sky high. Also, this was a completely new environment for me. I didn’t know how high school worked and this wasn’t the type of town I was used to. Living in suburbia and attending a school with different demographics than I was used to scared me. I now lived 30 minutes away from everything I grew up around. But the thought of having a fresh start excited me. No one knew me, I was a nobody and therefore free to completely change myself.

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.

At the end of first grade my parents decided to move. They wanted to move because they wanted to change schools for me, but are old house that I had lived at would only let us go too slv, and my parents didn’t want me to go to slv. So they decided to move. All though we had only moved across town, it felt like a world of difference. My old school was a small, desolate private school in Santa Cruz. We only had one class per grade. My first 1st grade class had only 17 kids. Now I was going to the big, scary elementary school with over 100 kids and more than 30 kids in my class.

One of the hardest and most influential days of my life was when I started middle school. It was my first time switching schools in six years and I wasn’t sure I was ready to. Some of my friends had known me for those six years and some even more. I had all sorts of questions running through my head on the day of the orientation. Like, what if I don’t fit in or what if I get lost on my first day? All of these questions disappeared when I stepped into what would soon be my new 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

Growing up I learned about financial trouble by my parents telling me that Santa’s workshop is under construction, so he’s limited on supplies. I got told that at a young age and at the time I didn’t understand. Once I got older and started following financial situations and saving money, I realized what they meant. Looking back at it now, it isn’t a big deal because I understand what happened. At the time I was upset because I knew I wasn’t going to get everything on my list.

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

It was a steaming summer day while I was warming up in the in the bullpen. It was summer 2016, and this was my 1st high school baseball game. I was throwing with Grant Talley to warm-up. He was one of the two catchers on our team. After about 15 warm-up pitches, it was time to take the field with my teammates. I had a jittery feeling in my stomach while the coaches were talking to us, before we took the field.

Like most people, I didn't grow up knowing exactly what I wanted to do as an

Life is like an ocean. It ebbs and flows. The only certainty is that there isn't any. {except for death & taxes}.

In my lifetime, I hope to achieve many things. I want to leave my mark on the world and leave something behind to be remembered by. There are several steps to becoming successful in life and graduating high school is what I am trying to achieve currently. That being said, I want to leave the things I have learned in high school behind to those who may face the same challenges that I have during my own high school experience.