My Experience In High School

Before I truly began to walk with Jesus, I was under the impression that I always had been. I was baptized as a baby, attended the same church my entire childhood, and spouted off every Sunday school answer without missing a beat. I loved the Lord, and I understood that he was my Savior and Creator, but I did not fully understand to what capacity I had been saved and created. I was missing something, and at age thirteen I developed a serious case of perfectionism. I closely monitored what I ate, religiously worked out, and devotedly studied to obtain unbeatable grades. I practiced piano every day until my wrists hurt and would except no less than flawless performances. I was captain of the cheer squad, and often referred to as “little miss perfect.” At a young age, I had constructed an image of what I thought I should be. Behind the facade, I was extremely lonely and insecure, but assumed those feelings were just middle school angst that would subside when I entered high school.

My eyes squinted as I gazed towards the massive building that for the next four years would be my success, demise, and most importantly, my high school. As I strut to the tall glass doors, I felt so prepared, confident even. Armed with a couple of best friends, sufficient intelligence, and adequate athleticism, I was positive that everything would go perfectly. After all, high school was the place of beginnings, a place where my friends and I would battle through together; high school wasn’t the place where everything would fall apart.

At the beginning of semester, I was not sure if the course was going to be enjoyable. There were some classes where I thought I had already learned some of the lectures in High School. I asked myself many times, “Why is this course required?” However, as the semester went by, I sort of started to understand the reason for the course. I had never attended college before, and I didn’t really know what certain things were,for example, Financial Aid. The topic time management was also influential across the semester. Learning a little more about my personality was also something that was influential across the semester.

During the first two years of my high school career, I experienced intolerable levels of hardship which I eventually vanquished and was able to preside over. In case It doesn’t become evident, I have a “type a” personality which I’ve been more than conscious of since my middle school days. The feeling of unease that tormented me all throughout middle and half of my high school years when I wasn’t excelling further more than I was in my previous years. Personal goals, and ambitions, that I wasn’t quite living up to, it raged me, It wasn’t who I was, I was better than that. I always thought I’d be destined for greater things, I never imagined it’d come with sacrifices and failures, at least not like mine. It wasn’t until I began high school when I realized how different things were and it wouldn’t be your ordinary middle school level material.

As I begin my final year of high school, I reflect back onto my last graduation. I consider myself lucky to have attended a unique educational program. The school I attended for 9th grade wasn’t traditional. It was a 25 student Montessori program, serving grades 7-9, in accordance with Maria Montessori’s 3-year education system. I was in 7th grade when I entered the program from a traditional school, and I had never seen anything like it. Whether students were bringing back vegetables from the farm next door, cooking coffee cake for their peers to enjoy, feeding our flock of 5 chickens, or ordering this week’s office supplies - I knew I wanted to be a part of it. Yes, we had the traditional math, science, English, history and language classes, but the unique practical life aspects made it so much more than just a traditional school setting. It was a community full of opportunity and new experiences. This new take on education sparked a love for learning that I will carry with me for years to come.

I moved into residence at The University of Waterloo exactly 25 days ago. When I was starting High School, going to university was something I was sure I would never do; not because I thought I wouldn’t have adequate grades to get accepted, but because I thought it would be boring. This notion is rather atypical of a 12-year-old kid. As a high-schooler, it was ingrained into my mind at every possible opportunity that after High School I would go to university, and after graduating, I would start working for an employer. This is what everyone in my family, and everyone else that I grew up around did. Those around me who were successful made it there by getting an education. It’s what I believed I would do too, until I had a profound moment of realization on a family vacation in the 8th grade.

High School is a place where “ if opportunity doesn’t knock build a door.” . For many of us, high school is that daunting step where students go from a small fish in a small pond, to a slightly larger fish in a much bigger pond. It explains that how students start their career from “a small fish” meaning in the first year they are very new to high school, they have plenty of new and great things to learn and also many more ways to go through in their life. They will face some problems, will go through some positive and maybe some bad experiences, and also understand the importance of study. From these experiences everyday they grasp learning power. As they go further, they learn many things, which are interesting and beneficial to them with their career or future. I had to transition from 600 students k-8 to 3,200 students in high school.

As you begin your high school journey, there are many things that you should know. First off, hallway etiquette: walk on the right side of the hallway, and although it may be tempting, do not run or scream. All of the upperclassman will be thankful if you do this.  Although proper hallway etiquette is what many seniors want freshmen to know, there are many more important lessons to be shared to find success in high school. You must do your best at all times, but also learn to cope with failure when things do not work out the way you had hoped. Do not take anything for granted, and always be grateful.  Your experiences in high school will change you, and it is vital that you use these experiences to grow.

Starting off as a freshmen I was very quiet, I was scared of the teachers and classmates. Everyday was a struggle to get into the classrooms my body would shake, my hands would sweat, and my voice would tremble. Each and everyday felt like the first day of school. I hated the way I acted and looked at school as if it were a challenge. Being social became like solving a binary code. I could not figure out how to talk to people everyone made it seem so easy to connect to one another. I felt like a foreigner who did not know how to speak English. For the rest of the year I let myself be in isolation only speaking to my friends I have meet in middle school. As the new year came around I felt compelled to break the habit of being preserved. I went in with the intention of making at least four new friends. I knew it was something I needed to come out of if, I wanted to succeed in the near future and interacting was definitely needed for internships or job applications. Being very serious about wanting to grow as an individual I tried out for our school cheer. As I waited in line for a number to try out I was ready to just drop it and leave. My friend told me it was gonna be fine and I remained in line. As tryouts went on I felt so confident I was surprised myself. While learning the motions and dance I felt relieved. For the first time I was alive interacting with everyone who was trying out it was truly the time of my life. Two days later time to tryout came. I was me again.

Me, a student attending a normal day of boring school, or so I thought. This all started with a teacher named Mrs.Reed that many students disliked due to past experiences. Stories have lingered around the school of her locking kids in her closet for bad behavior which most have not yet to been seen since. She also smacks the kids with rulers if they fail to complete their work on time. After hearing all the rumors that people murmured about Mrs.Reed I prayed that I would never have to have that teacher throughout my high school education. So far I’ve made it through a year of highschool successfully. The last thing I need is a teacher like Mrs.Reed to come along and ruin my overall thought of highschool. So, it was the first day of a new semester and the bell to first just had rung. I needed to look at my schedule to see what class I had and where. I pulled the schedule out of my back pocket to look down and see the death of me, Mrs. Reed for HIstory, Room 306. Thoughts of terror and torture drained through my mind unable to even move my feet to class. The thoughts in my head things like “am I going to be the next victim of her known history of holding kids hostage in her closet?” I inched my way down the hallway classroom 304 passed then 305 passed and then 306 the classroom of doom. I stand in the doorway with trembling knees. I took a big gulp and made my way into the class head down trying to navigate the location of my desk. Finally, finding my desk I slipped into it

Walking into the Stem Academy I didn't know what to expect. I met my friends Olivia, Makaila, London, Rebecca, and Shya. I had Mr. Jain as my homeroom teacher, he was a very good teacher just hard to understand sometimes. This whole year I passed all of my classes, this year was kind of easy to me. My behavior was really good this year I got an E for conduct the second quarter and then the rest were S, but I didn't really get into much trouble this year. I liked the way that our schedules were set up because we got to kind of explore the school and if we knew some of the older kids we would be able to socialize with them. I also liked the fact that we were able to get Ipads instead of having books to carry around. It's really neat to be able to communicate with teachers and turn in work electronically. This is how my six grade school year went as far as the school work. With social and extracurricular activities I had a lot of fun with these. We had fights, party's, dress downs, and also more fights. I went to basketball tryouts but I was so bad at basketball, that I didn't make it. It didn't really matter that I didn't make the team because I still played AAU basketball. I went out for soccer but that wasn't really for me, I only tried because my friends did. The fights were really childish and stupid. The only fight we really had this year is when Kejuan body slammed Toriano onto the ground by his head. There wasn't really too many party’s but when there were some

When I spot palm trees appearing as I’m coming down south from the north, that’s when I know I’m in the Rio Grande Valley. The sight of the palm trees reassuring me that I’m close to home. Weslaco, Texas is a town close to the border that separates the United States and Mexico. The region where people fill the air with the Spanish language. The schools that I’ve attended from the Weslaco Independent School District has provided me great lessons academically and in the real world. Throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years, I've learned the importance of becoming successful.

A tradition at my high school for the senior class is choosing a city to spend a few days in before graduation. My class chose to go to Baltimore, Maryland. We had an action packed four days going to Adventure Park USA, Six Flags, The National Aquarium, a Baltimore Orioles game, The Smithsonian Zoo, and shopped around downtown Baltimore. I became close with classmates I rarely talked with throughout high school and saw a different side of them than what I had seen in the classrooms. My small circle of friends became even closer over the course of the week both individually and spiritually. My senior class trip to Baltimore was a memorable trip, a little chaotic, but it brought us closer together.

By High school, my friend group had competently changed. I sat at a different lunch table every day and some days would eat lunch with a teacher. Making lasting friendships was hard for me partly because I was shy. I had hoped my freshman year of making new friends on the soccer team. I faced my first real disappointment in my life when I did not make varsity and I made JV. The friends I was trying to make all played on varsity and I increasingly felt more alone and not worthy. My first three years of high school were pretty bleak. I did not have a social life outside of school. My happy place was going home and binge-watching Netflix after soccer practice. My junior year of high school was the toughest. I am dyslexic and have dyscalculia, so basically that means school is really hard for me. Junior year destroyed me in the classroom and to make matters worse, I also hurt my ankle taking me out of soccer the one outlet I had. I was angry because I was finally starting to play on varsity and score. I was heading to a bad place in my mind thinking the world had a personal vendetta against me. I knew I had to do something to change the path I was on because I could not keep living as a shell of a person. I decided in an act of desperation to sign up for church camp. I did not go to church anymore and my view of God was quite skewed. I believed there was a God because believing he created the world made the most logical sense to me, but I thought he had abandoned us on earth. I

There have been times in my life in which my decisions have led to negative consequences. One of these biggest mistakes occurred my sophomore year.