Personal Narrative: Neuqua Valley High School

My mother’s irate words echoed deep in my heart for years as I tried to understand the simple words she would constantly repeat to me, “When will you ever change?” As a child, I was well known for being that foolish kid who would be put in the back of the class with his seat facing the wall. Eyes facing a blank white wall, fingernails tapping the desk, head down, and the smell of exasperation in the air. I was the type of boy who would sprint through the hallways cackling, furthermore resulting in repeatedly get scowled at by teachers for my obscene and inordinate behavior. In hindsight, I realized Freshman year after pulling the fire alarm that my behavior needed to have a parameter and come to a complete termination. Consequently, I spent the entire Summer in my room contemplating my life and my decisions.

Junior year was my first year playing football for Riverbend High School and having played soccer all of my life I decided to be a kicker and punter. By the time that we started playing games I was the backup punter on varsity and would not play until October 10; the homecoming game against Hylton.

When I was a little girl, my grandma would always take me to her school with her and let me sit in on her classes throughout the day. I always begged her to let me go with her because I had loved getting to be there with her and getting to pretend that I too was a part of the class. Alvord Continuation High School was mainly composed of portable classrooms, the buildings were red and white spanish style buildings. The school my grandmother taught at was not a regular high school, this was a place where students over the age of sixteen were able to attend in order to finish school to obtain a high school diploma. The students she taught primarily looked a lot older than sixteen, they were adults trying to graduate to move on with their lives.

I have always been in love with the game of softball. I love all the competition and the thought of working at it brings joy to my heart. I could always go to the field to get my mind off things and just focus. But in May of 2015 my life changed and I had a whole new mind set on everything.

When I lived in North Carolina in 2012, I lived in a small school within a tight nit community. From day one I felt as though I didn’t belong, and the ones who made me feel most out of place were my teachers. My teachers told me to leave and go back to Maryland because if i stay I would fail. I couldn’t believe teachers would say that I was so shocked. My teachers rarely attempted to help me with my work as if I was unteachable because I didn’t learn as fast as everyone else.

Throughout the seventeen years that I’ve been alive I have witnessed all the sacrifices my parents have gone through ensuring I have a better future than they did. I come from immigrant parents that weren’t fortunate enough to continue studying. I myself was brought into the country when I was two years old so I could build a different path than the one my parents had to take due to financial reasons. Short after, my sister was born my mom got remarkably ill with Diabetes. I would watch in terror as my mother would lay in bed barely able to move. I held her hand, wiped her forehead, with a cool wet towel, and longed she would get all better. Being the oldest in the

My eyes repeatedly peered to the stands which had a crowd of at least four hundred students eagerly waiting as we were warming up. Observing the crowd I noticed the left side of the field was full of students in orange Parkview High School shirts while to my right students were in purple Brookwood High School shirts. It was the Lacrosse Region Championships between Parkview, the school I played for, and, Brookwood High School. Both of our schools were ranked top ten for biggest rivalries, we knew it would be a fight to win the most significant game for us.

Vividly, I can remember walking through the high school doors for the first time as a freshman with shaky legs and a nervous heartbeat. The school was a jungle of wide, shiny hallways filled with lumbering seniors who I thought were going to knock my books down on Freshman Friday. However, time has passed, and now I find myself to be the tall and “scary” senior. As I ponder about the last four years I have spent at Little Falls Community High School, I can not help but realize how much I have changed for the better. As I have matured, I have gleaned that beauty does not come through makeup and clothing brands, but rather through processing a good heart. Also, I have changed my career and college plans after high school, and I know that I will

“Fight, fight, fight,” was the chant that so often filled the halls of West Monroe High School. The teachers heard it every time but always hid in the teacher's lounge for fear of being attacked. This was the legacy of WMH, fights, student riots, and terrified teachers.

Before I attended Hudson’s Bay High School I was part homeschooled, this meant I only went to school 3 times a week. However, I’m thankful I switched to being a full-time student at Bay because it introduced me to “the real world”. The public-school life was a unique experience for me since it introduced new friends and opportunities that were not available at my old homeschool. I was able to join four different sports, attend Cascadia Technical Academy, engage in student leadership programs like NHS and SALT, and finish my high school credits with Running Start. Participation in these activities has better prepared me for my future of shaping me to become an engaged and experienced adult, and with the aid of this scholarship I can complete

There’s one decision that I’ve made that I’m still carrying out; meaning, I’m still not certain whether it was a good one or not. My decision was to come to Squaw Valley Academy. I did not want to go to my local high school as the education system wasn’t the best a couple years ago. It still isn’t but occasionally I wonder if I made the right choice. By going through with this decision I have changed a great deal. I have been at this school for almost two years now, and I’m definitely not the same person that arrived here. Going back home I realized how different I was from my old friends, and how much more mature I had become.

I woke up that morning feeling lost and without guidance. It was the last day of winter break and hell was right around the corner. Horizon High School was the place I attended and everything about it was hurting me. The teachers never seemed to truly care about you, or the success you had at any point in the year. It was hard to communicate with them or convince them to be attentive towards your problem. Friends were the only thing that helped during the day, but they were so despondent it didn’t do much.

All in all, I feel like my experience at Hopkins County Central High School was a success. I eventually revisited my earlier question of “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” and I can truly answer this with a “Yes”. I feel that teaching is for me, although I know that High School would not be my first choice of path. As I am pursuing more the Middle School age, but by no means would I turn down a chance to tackle the challenge of a High School classroom

I currently attend a specialized high school which is lead to be a “non-typical high school experience.” Being surrounded by peers who share the same goals as I do has continued to challenge me beyond my comfort zone. High school has prepared me to anticipate the rigorous work in the BS-MD program while balancing other priorities. Learning from my past experiences, time management is vital in any academic atmosphere. From eighth grade through tenth grade most of my time was spent in the dance studio, up to 25 hour weeks. I’ve learned to balance my passion for dance while maintaining my position on the honor roll. With the challenge of being a senior in high school, dance would not be fit for my schedule. Meanwhile, I was mentored by two extremely

Walking onto the fields with my cleats hung over my shoulder, I had never felt so out of place. The other players seemed to know each other already, either from high school or playing the previous year together. I, however, knew nobody and was left there awkwardly fiddling with the grass at my feet. I doubted anyone knew my name as I was a rookie on the team, fresh out of last week’s tryouts. It was still unbelievable to me that I made it past those tough weeks of tryouts and found myself a spot on the team as the Philadelphia Forge, a youth Ultimate Frisbee team, draws upon some of the best high school Ultimate players in the Philadelphia area.