Senior Year's Accomplishments

Growing up in poverty was difficult, not being able to buy the school yearbook or a book from the book fair. As I got older I made a promise to myself that no matter what I would not live like that as an adult. I would be successful in life. Neither of my parents went to college, I think because of that I grew up in not an ideal setting. All of my school career I have worked for my end goal to be happy. Along my journey there have been some speed bumps. In 8th grade I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I stopped trying no matter how hard I wanted to succeed. By the summer before 11th grade I was doing (good) I was taking my sat and going to graduate a year eary. When school started back up I realized I was getting worse. I went the first

With a year full of hurdles I was set to overcome, senior year did not seem like the right time for me to defeat my dragon. My introverted qualities have grown tremendously over the course of my life due to traumatic events I have been forced to face on my own. Since adolescence, I have always been known as the “quiet girl” in the room. I always took this as a compliment, until recently, when I realized I was missing out on crucial events that would help prepare me for the future. Through careful consideration, I decided that senior year would be the ideal time to slay my dragon, introversion.

As a freshman in high school, I had the worst grades in Biology, English and Math. I was struggling in English and Biology because of my poor English-language skills. I was new to the United States, and that made the transition difficult. However in math I was just being lazy and I did not want to put in the effort needed to get a decent grade.

No one was degrading my dream, it was just that, my score on the practice test for the SHSAT wasn’t good enough to get into Stuyvesant or any school. The SHSAT is out of 800 points. There are 2 sections, Math and Verbal. Each section is 400 points, the math section had 50 questions and the verbal had 45 questions. A school to get into Stuyvesant is around 600. I was getting around the 430’s. I always said to myself. “It’s too early to quit. Keep trying.” However, ever time I tried, I did much worse than I expected. Every time I took a practice test during the summer, I always think about the people I told my dream to and then I think what would happen if I didn’t get in. I had a poor mentality at the time, and I couldn’t handle all of this uncertainty. Then I questioned to myself, “Why are you taking this exam?” Then more questioned emerged, “ Do you really want to get into Stuyvesant? and “Are you doing this for you or someone else?” This really fragmented my will to do well in this exam. On October 25 2014, my Dad drove me to Long Island City High School. On the ride, I never felt this shaky in my life. My parents spent thousands of dollars for me to do well in this exam and if I don’t get in, I’ll never hear the end of it. On the test, I just didn't want to take it. Then something in me said to try your best. I tried my best on the exam. Once I was finished, I waited until they called time. Once I left, I was elated that I got this test over with. Near the end of April 2015, I was called by the guidance counselor. I went to her room and she told me to sit down. She gave me this packet containing info about my score on the SHSAT and what public high school I got into. I got a 443 on the SHSAT, and I didn’t get into any public high

Even as my older brothers were failing their classes and disrespecting my parents, I continued to set and achieve my goals while still being a pillar for my family. Even though I didn't have the same opportunities as my peers, I still enrolled and excelled at some of the hardest courses throughout middle school and high school. Even though we have introduced and gave home to two younger boys to our family and have shifted the balance once again, I still managed to maintain an aire of normalcy and maintain my grades. Even with three older siblings who have barely passed high school and one who didn’t finish at all, I am still going to be the first go to college and I do have lofty ambitions which I do plan to accomplish. Even though nobody could probably fathom or understand what I’ve been through, what I’ve seen, what I’ve felt, I am determined to not let that hinder me, and to make a future for myself without

From a young age I have been taught that education is a tool and an opportunity that not many get the option of acquiring during their lifetime. Originally , It was not in my plans to graduate early so when I found out about the great news I felt very proud of all my small accomplishments that led up to this. Finding out that I had enough credits in order to graduate early was honorable. Even though there are still a few arrangements that need to be done like taking the ACT or SAT, I believe that with the help of my counselor I will be able to succeed. Being enrolled in the CNA - One semester program at the Peoria Tech campus is my first step into the career force. Upon completion of this course, Tech places students in a clinic/hospice to

During my time at Junior High i’ve always had things come so easy to me, and I loved it. I would get decent grades without having to study for the tests, the homework was straightforward, and the teachers loved me. Being the average know-it-all child I was, I thought this would’ve carried out into high school. I spent my freshman year struggling because I didn’t quite understand that yet. It wasn’t until my second semester of sophomore year I finally made a change, and it showed a considerable amount. I kept the ambition up throughout my junior year, received a job as a CNA, and stayed busy managing wrestling.

Throughout the time I was in middle school I lacked support from both my parents. I didn’t have anyone to push me to try and receive good grades and both my parents cared very little whether I passed my classes. Lacking parental guidance, I received poor and failing grades throughout all of middle school. I created a poor working habit and had the mindset that school was not for me. It wasn’t until the end of my 8th grade year that I realized that the grades I received could ultimately shape my future. By then I was far behind from other students who had received good grades all of middle school. At the start of high school I was placed into regular ed classes and put in elective classes just to fill up my schedule. These classes put me

Prior to high school, I had done well in school, but did not drive myself to . Towards the end of my eighth grade year, I had attended my brother’s award banquet and noticed that there were students winning almost every award and were recognized for being at the top of their class. At that moment I decided that I wanted to be like the students who did well, but I knew that there was a large amount of effort required. Once I entered high school, I greatly increased the effort that I put into my classes. I spent more time studying, consulting teachers, and completing assignments, all while balancing sports and other extracurricular activities. My grades had drastically improved and I knew that I had succeeded, but I wanted to achieve more. Through my sophomore and junior years, I pushed myself in harder classes, became an officer in many of my activities, and increased my involvement with new activities. Presently, I am well known by my community and school for my academic achievement and service through leadership. This chain of events has increased my work ethic, responsibility, and drive for greatness. Moreover, this experience has allowed me to develop into the devoted, confident, and disciplined person I am

What goals should a high school senior have in their last year of school? This senior year I have 3 goals. These 3 goals are learning from my co-op, to graduate this year with honors, and start getting college paid for. These three goal should be accomplished by the end of my senior year. Hopefully I get the second goal accomplished by the end of this school year!

During my time spent in elementary, I was filled with hope. Hope that one day I would grow up and go to college. Till this day this dream hasn’t changed, but my grades have though. Constantly, I was on A honor roll. My parents congratulated me for having high grades, and being smarter than most people in my

Ever since I was a little boy I have always been obsessed with numbers and money. Not so much making money, but counting money, and keeping track of it. Through my years at school, I had always done well in all my classes, but math is where I excelled the most. Math quickly became my favorite subject not because I was good at it, but because I enjoyed.

I am amongst the students in my generation who have been told that if we work hard for something we will get it. In the gray world we live in, where nothing is ever black and white (except race) this bumper sticker quote shatters dreams daily. It was in my sophomore year when I discovered Poetry Out Loud (POL). POL is a national competition where students read poems in order to possibly win a 25,000 dollar scholarship award and other smaller awards. When I stumbled on POL my school was not a participant. To my delighted surprise the following year my communications teacher introduced the contest to my school. I was excited and everything about the opportunity screamed that my success in the competition was fated. In the school level I came

Do you want your freshman year to be successful? If you do just do these three things which are. “Get good grades, follow the rules, and don’t tick off teachers.” If you do these three things your freshman year will be successful.

As my senior year of high school started I was often excited about prom, a night of pure fun that's supposed to be right near the pinnacle of the senior experience, but I didn’t know how many problems it would end up bringing me. At the beginning of my senior year I met a new girl in my international relations class named Katherine, sitting only one seat diagonal from me. Most of the year we got along very well, and whenever we were assigned to the same group we would have a blast. We’d start off with the assigned discussion topic that would quickly devolve into something more interesting like our pristine cool sock collections. Though we seemed to get along really well, we never became the best of friends. Our main communication revolved around a couple day cycle with dabbles of small talk in the inbetween days. Though I didn’t know it at the time, this infrequent communication ultimately lead to the end of our relationship.