Reflection On Friendships At Governor's School Of North Carolina

To many freshman the first day of high school is the opening chapter of a new novel, a fresh start to a sometimes embarrassing middle school experience we would all just love to erase from our memories. August 13th, 2012 was the beginning of my four year long narrative at Cypress Bay High School. Despite my desperate desire to grow up, become an adult, and move far away from my parents for college all that did not seem possible because I had never previously attended a public school. I was struck with fear that I would not be able to adjust to the fast pace dynamics of a large high school.

Students in the classroom come from a variety of backgrounds. Their lives are shaped by their families, their communities, but also their peers in school whom they will spend hours a day with throughout their educational career. The ability to form relationships with others, to create lasting friendships that grow and evolve with time, is detrimental to all children and their development. Lacking the ability to do so, whether it is directly because of their conditions or because of how other students perceive them, can dramatically harm them emotionally and mentally.

After attending two years at The Piney Woods School, it was time to move on to the next lesson and chapter in my life. The good news, I made a few friends and they were open minded, a little corky and not so judgmental. We shared the experience together and stayed true to ourselves. At the end of the day, we cared about each other because of who we were as individuals and not because of what our race, culture or society wanted us to be. We were just people, connecting, learning and growing. To me, that’s how it’s supposed to

Even after making the transition to Deer River High School in sixth grade, I continued to glide through school. My pattern of being underchallenged continued until I discovered College in the Schools classes this past fall. Finally, I was challenged (perhaps at times even more so than I imagined,) and I’ve grown exponentially in the past academic year. However, I feel as if that exponential growth is reaching its capacity in this specific environment. Becoming a part of the College of St. Scholastica’s academic environment would allow me to begin a new pattern of exponential growth both as a student and as a person.

It was the year 2008, I had just graduated from St. Michael’s School located in Los Angeles, CA. This year was quite exhilarating for me also scary because I was going to attend an all-girls high school. Los Angeles was my birth place also a place where I called home. One day, I came home to hearing my parents talking about moving to Mississippi. I remained devastated, not only we were moving to the south, I’m moving away from childhood friends. I was worried I wouldn’t see them again and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make new friends in Mississippi.

When I first come here, it is tough for me to make friends because all of the students here come from different backgrounds. I managed to overcome that problem by engaging with the clubs’ activities and participating in volunteering programs. I improved my self-confidence by make a lot of friends from day to day. This gives me a good impression that being in a wonderful college like Bunker Hill Community College really helps students to build themselves by brushing up their potentials. By connecting with people every day and knowing others, we can brush up our communication skills as well as widen our knowledge. Based from these experiences, I promised to myself to help the new students adapting themselves in the new world attracting them to get involved with clubs, activities and volunteering

A lot has changed since freshman year. I moved to Oak Ridge, so my father and I could be with the family. I switched to Oak Ridge High School and struggled tremendously, but most importantly, I made friends that needed me. Although my trust issues are still very much a problem for me, I’ve learned to cope with them by surrounding myself with people that I love. My heart continues to swell every time I

Throughout my life as a child and teenager, I was told by my parents that they worked really hard to get to the safe town and community that we lived in. Growing up in Pacific Grove, California gave me lots opportunities that I didn’t even know I obtained. Unless it had happened to me personally, I didn’t really understand the full picture of what others had to go through. Having dyslexia, the only subject I felt I really excelled in was art. After high school, I still had no idea what I wanted to do for a career or even a major. Monterey Peninsula College has boosted my confidence by showing me that I can be and do much more. Two years ago I would never have guessed that I would be applying to the University of Washington.

My experiences at the University of Houston have greatly shaped my personal identity. I realized that my strongest attributes revolve around working with and mentoring others, including those with backgrounds and experiences different than my own. My role as a Resident Advisor was meaningful because I had a chance to work with students of different majors, classification, and ethnicity. I helped them feel comfortable in their living situation and be involved on campus. Adjusting to campus life is a difficult transition, so I became their support system. I challenged myself to form connections with each resident by finding common interests, connecting to campus resources, and educating with floor programs. This experience taught me to be more

The school year approached its end. Another summer to spend alone by myself. The cycle had been repeating since I was in grade school. Sadness choked me as I returned home and shut my door. Every year, the resolution was the same: I would try to make friends next year; however, every year, I felt myself falling back down into the same trap. By the time high school began, I no longer felt the numb sensation of sadness or the flow of tears as the final day of May became the last day I talked with my “friends.” I no longer expected to make any friends, or, more accurately, I no longer expected to be able to make any friends. The sheer possibility of befriending an individual appeared to me as foreign as speaking in latin. When I walked into school, what should have been a site of chatter, opportunity, and growth appeared to me as a form of imprisonment and torture; however, unbeknownst to me, I did have friends; something of which I did not recognize until years passed by. I grown attached to certain conversations; there were times where I felt the need to initiate a conversation rather than waiting for someone else to make one. It was not until one of my friends told me,”We’re your friends aren’t we?” when I realized I was not longer

My time at Friends has been one of immense personal growth for me. I’ve discovered a lot about myself and I’m proud of my accomplishments. Now, I’m searching for a college similar to Friends with a welcoming

Friendship is universal. It can bridge societal gaps of gender, race, social class, and differences in abilities. College is a time of personal growth, and friendships have a tremendous impact on the development and experiences of an individual. Through Best Buddies, college students and adults in the community with disabilities have the opportunity to share friendships. These relationships bring people of all abilities, interests, and talents together, as equals and as friends. I chose to look at these friendships

To start off with, as a transfer student coming from a local state college to the University of Central Florida was a huge change. It was a different change because it was the first time I was going to be away from home. I have spent the last twenty-one years under my parent’s wings and it was time to grow and flourish, but that is much easier said than done, it would also be much easier if I was not such a shy person. But my decision

Now that I am reaching the end of my undergraduate career I feel like it’s fit to reflect on how far i’ve come and some high and low points during this time of my life. Some people may say that these four years of college are the most wonderful times of their life, and for the most part that is correct. But there is this whole other part of college life that is super stressful and even scary. During this paper I will address my personal development and how certain experiences played a role in those developments. Even though I feel like i’ve grown a lot and have developed and learned new things, I have run into some issues. Those issues being family/culture, social and emotional growth, intellectual growth, values and beliefs, citizen and community member.

Freshman year I remember walking into the school mortified, thinking that everything and anything that could go wrong would. I had never attended a Liberty-Benton School and knew about five people that would be in my grade. I was shy and quiet because I didn’t know any of the new faces. I was insecure about myself and thought that it would be almost impossible to make friends. Before high school, I went to a small, private,