Personal Narrative: My First Year Of High School

Junior year. My junior year I realized things about myself that I hadn’t previously known. Things I’ve never done before and things people thought I couldn’t do. Situations I thought I wouldn’t be in and there I was. Junior year, I did it.

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.

Being a freshman is the hardest of your four years in high school. Have you ever been pressured to be the best person you can be? This is how my year was as a freshman. Freshman year was the most different I never thought I would of found my way around the school when I first started to go there. Freshman year was the best year throughout my years of high school and it was the only year I had friends. During this year I had a lot of anxieties which dealt with me thinking I’m gonna be alone and not have any friends throughout the year to support me through the whole thing. Also, I would think of the pressure of not doing good in any of my classes so I would think it would affect my GPA in the future. The transition from middle school to high school was a different type of thing to do.

Freshman year I took a chance outside of my comfort zone, and that risk gave me a future in a career I am extremely passionate about. Since freshman year I have been shadowing my high school athletic trainer. I have learned how to; prevent, asses, treat, tape, and rehab a variety of injuries. However, what has fostered my interest in my major is being able to see an athlete through the entirety of an injury. During my sophomore year I was responsible for treating and rehabbing a key player on the lacrosse team. The bond I built with him was something I could've never imagined possible. I had the responsibility of preparing him physically and mentally to return to play. This meant I had to support him when he felt like he would never play as

Entering high school, I was quite nervous because I had very big shoes to fill. The previous year, my older brother was named Salutatorian of his graduating class. That is when I knew I had to set a personal goal for myself. That goal was to be on honor roll every semester throughout high school. Neither myself nor my parents would accept anything less out of me. I knew this goal was going to be difficult at times because I am very engaged in extra-curricular activities and athletics, and, not to mention, waitressing every Sunday at a local restaurant. Between volleyball, basketball, and the countless number of clubs and groups I am a part of, I would have to find time for studying, homework, and school projects. Just the thought of this was

The first two years of my high school career were effected by health issues. They were the most difficult as I learned more about depression and anxiety and how to not only manage it, but, also to overcome it. There were days that were very difficult for me to make it out of bed, get dressed, and head off to school. I would get dressed, in the car heading to school, and then feel very overwhelmed that I either could not get out of the car or once at school I would have to leave early due to the depression. As a result, my grades suffered during this hardship.

The most significant challenge I have faced in my whole three years going on to four years of high school would be these last couple years in making a difference in my education. Trying to juggle being a brother, role model,honor student, and a athlete can be quite difficult. At times I feel pressured on being the older brother, so it becomes a challenge in always trying to be the best role model that I can be. However, I remember a time my grades consequently dropped slightly and my father attended with me for a parent conference, unfortunately he wasn't in the best of moods but he set me straight at the beginning of middle school so i wouldn't be who i am today if it wasn't for my father putting me straight.

This year, I’m going for the gold. Rather than sitting still waiting for opportunities to come to me, I came to the conclusion that to get the most out of my high school experience, I’d have to chase my dreams. Growing up as a first generation American, I’ve always felt as if I was the “monkey in the middle”, too African to be American, and too American to be African. There have been many times in my life in which I have been taunted and discriminated against for my heritage and at one point in my life, I was ashamed of who I was. All I saw on the television and in magazines were girls with skin lighter than mine and hair that was looser as well. It was a dark time for me and I would never want anyone to experience the things I went through.

After freshman year, I put the past behind me. Being the positive and optimistic student athlete that I was, little did I know that soccer was not in my future for my sophomore year of high school. I've always adored playing sports, but to be able to represent my school would be outstanding. Getting cut from the middle school soccer team multiple seasons really made an impact in my life. Countless hours of training finally led to the one moment I have always waited for. The coach handed me the small, terrifying paper which for once, was not so terrifying. Markings within the paper signaled that I had made the freshman soccer team, sparking new hope in my future with the sport. Having the most ideal soccer season that I have ever had led me to try out the following season as a sophomore.

My freshmen year of high school I decided to try out for the soccer team. High school was a new start. I was ready to make new friends and create new memories. Going into try outs I only knew one other girl on the team. The other people in my grade I knew of them, but I knew little about them. I had never played any sports before. Therefore, I had zero soccer experience. My lack of experience led me to constantly compare myself to other players. I compared how far they kicked the ball, how many goals they got, and how fast they ran. I thought to myself, "I will never be as good as them". The second say of tryouts came around, and I only made it to the first session of two. I had quit. My fear of failure got the best of me, and I lost the opportunity to learn from other people.

As we entered the doctor's office I had realized that everything would be better soon. As we walked in the nurse took us into her office and started asking me questions, she asked along the lines of where's the pain, how severe is it you know normal doctor things. The room was a 6x6 little tiny room, feeling smaller than ever being watched by body figures in judgement because I was in denial of my own. As we progressed throughout our conversation she wanted to do a blood test on me, as I walked into the test room a very young lady was the blood specialist she couldn't have been more than twenty. She sat me down on to hyper sanitary leather chair with cords and wires coming out of every angle, I picked up a hint of nervousness from her because

In my sophomore year of high school, one of my classmates introduced me to join an extra-curricular club that enabled high school students to test their leadership skills by becoming a camp counselor for fifth-grade students at Camp Allegheny. Every time our school hosted club week, she would pull me aside and direct me to the booth labeled “Camp Allegheny.” When the date to turn in Camp Allegheny applications was soon approaching, she would energetically speak about the fun activities, the involvement with the teachers and fifth graders, and the steaming hot chocolate that was to die for.

During the sophomore year of high school, we received paperwork for the classes we wanted to take Junior year. I took a look at all the amazing classes Avon offered, and decided that I wanted to switch things up and challenge myself. I did this by signing up for two AP classes, AP US History and AP Biology. I thought it would be a great way to challenge myself, because I had never taken any AP classes so far. I also wanted to prove to myself that I was really good in sciences, because I’ve always wanted to become a doctor. This class, I thought at the time, would really open my eyes to Biology and would look great on my transcript for college. I took AP US History because a friend of mine urged me to take it. We heard from others students that the class wasn’t all that bad. We also knew that if struggled with something in this course, we could always depend on each other.

In the time of my four years in high school I have been through a lot which has affected me academically. When I first started my sophomore year my family was in the middle of a custody battle for my nieces with my brother and his ex-wife. Through the time of fighting for custody an incident happened that ended with the kids getting taken from us and put into foster care. Those events affected me greatly because I was the one who raised my niece Casie from when she was born up until the custody issue. When the dispute was going on I couldn’t focus on any of my work as well with missing a lot of school, which was reflected in my grades. Recently to start my senior year I was sent to Boise Idaho because my grandfather had passed. During that

The start of high school is a very exciting time for anybody, it means growing up, and having freedoms. Of course with freedoms, there comes consequences. As a freshmen at the time, I was not fully invested in school. Homework and studying was never a priority for me at the time, I thought copying other people’s work would let me glide through school with no worries. I had a busy schedule filled with school, and then swim practice right after, so by time the weekend came the last thing I wanted to be doing was school work. I was young and not thinking about the future, I’d rather be out with friends than doing any type of assignments. But as time went on I matured and realized that in order to do well in school I had to be dedicated. Unfortunately