Personal Narrative: Life After High School

Some people fracture a bone in their body; some break the same bone twice. A few rupture a bone from slipping on a rug. I happen to be one of the very few for whom both of these scenarios are true. Between the ages of five and seven, my parents enrolled me in a gymnastics class because I loved to tumble and twirl. I knew how to execute everything a little gymnast aimed for: a cartwheel, a handstand, and splits. I always tested my limits with the dream of getting to the Olympics. So, as any athlete, I practiced outside of the gym. However, a normal practice would turn out to crush my dream of winning the gold. Outside at my aunt's house, my cousins and I decided to practice what we learned in the class that week. I had diligently watched the older kids master a back handspring so I thought that I could tackle the challenge. All I remember is falling backwards, thinking I had stuck the landing. However, lying on the floor, I realized that my arm appeared abnormal and shooting pains came from all angles. I had broken my arm for the first time.

The summer of 2012 was the start of the downward spiral into my high school career. This ass hole guy decided to dump me and my dumb ass kept going after him when I know I shouldn’t have so I got hella drunk one night (as a 14 year old) and made this hilarious video with my bff that people hated apparently even though we looked hot. And so we got kicked out of cheer lol. Stupid mrs hatfield even had the vid on her phone like wtf lol. So yeah great start to high school.

Between the grades of kindergarten to grade four, I just didn’t care. I never thought twice about giving the wrong answer, doing my best work, or presenting projects in front of the class. That soon came to an abrupt halt when I started grade five. Everyone was starting to get serious about their grades and who they were starting to become. I began to worry about what people thought of me, and tried desperately to fit in. I was constantly working at getting my grades back up and maintaining my friendships, but I developed really bad anxiety about everything. I couldn’t work on or present any projects without stressing over it to the point where I wore myself out and made myself feel sick. My anxiety has decreased small amounts at a time over

I was a freshman in high school when I realized I was missing something, and no it wasn’t a boyfriend. Out of all the questions I was asked in high school, “What are you doing after high school?” was asked by a margin wider than Ronald Reagan’s popular vote in the presidential election of 1984. I was asked relentlessly by multiple teachers through out my high school career and I was always at a loss for a reply. I didn’t know what I wanted to be and I wouldn’t figure it out for a long time.

As the hallways emptied, the three girls gathered into Desiree’s blue saturn car. Ironically, though her car was beat up, she had managed to dress in only the best and most expensive clothes items. Many were skeptical of her work ethics, and the fact that her bag cost more than her car, but her friends were not. She had always been brutally honest so her friends never questioned why she would never wear the same outfit twice.

The years of 2017 and 2018 have been incredible, but emotionally draining, and I feel like a summer break will do me some good. Some of the things that happened in 2017 were: meeting Dylan, grieving over the death of my nana, starting my last year of high school, and going to the city of light with my mom. In 2018 I experienced becoming an adult at the age of eighteen, helping my boyfriend move from house to hotel multiple times, and the best of all, graduation. It’s been a rough school year, but I honestly would not change anything because all of this happened and made me the woman I am today. It took me a while to decide on the things I wanted to carry and the things I wanted to leave behind and I have made that decision.

College comes with multiple, unspoken rules. My personal favorites being if you do not have a car find someone who does quick, time should never be wasted, ration your food, and last but not least, eight a.m. classes truly do not have your best interest in mind. About two weeks ago, these guidelines became my college commandments off this one hilarious memory.

“Life’s never going to get simpler than being a teenager living with your mom. The world is yours for the taking and now all you have to do is seize the future with your head held up and your heart set toward the goal.” My mother told me this after I got the call from Chuck E. Cheeses asking when I could start the job. I would work thirty hours a week after holding coworkers shifts, while desperately trying to keep my grasp on a secure, successful education. I got another job at McAlister’s Deli working doubles every Saturday and Sunday; stayed up on school nights after work just to try and scrabble up a homework assignment, then I knew this couldn’t be my life after high school which pushed me to add some major modifications towards my high

My life began 14 years ago on September 22, 2000 at about 1:30 pm at Mesquite Medical Center. I weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces and was 19 inches long. I have a sister who is 6 years older than me and is currently attending Stephen F. Austin for her 3rd year. When I was born, I had little blue spots on my body, but the most noticeable one is on my finger, it has grown as I have gotten older. My dad also has these mysterious spots and has been to many dermatologists to try and figure out what they are but no doctor knows exactly what to call them.

Last school year was a crazy one. Lots of different things going on, good and bad. I'm usually a C and D grade type of student. School has never been easy for me, i figured it just wasn't for me. I started to give up and not care about school, i stopped doing my work, i let my grades go down and it was bad. I had about 5 Fs, the rest were mostly D’s and C’s. My best friend Erika is an honor student, all AP classes and straight A’s in every single report card. Her parents were so proud of her, we were all so proud of her. I wondered how that felt and told myself that if i try hard enough i can do it too. So i got my act together. it wasn't easy but i was really trying, i started to do my work, i studied like crazy and talked to my teachers more. All in all i dint get to straight A’s but i got to all B’s and maybe two C’s. i was proud, my mom was proud and my best friend was too. My GPA got a little higher and it was all great.

Most children live in a quiet neighborhood where they play for long hours all day without scraping a knee. Others come from less ideal circumstances. Now you are probably wondering which environment I grew up in. Seeing where this letter came from should tell you that I originate from this less ideal world. I was nurtured by my mother who was raised in a poor community in Puerto Rico and occasionally with my father who was raised in the streets of New York City. With their intentional love, in addition with the boundaries that they have set for me, they have made a path for me to grow up in without being affected by the cities dangerous nature.

The few years before high school was pretty bad for me and my family. We had some financial and personal problems that were going on at the time. I had a lot of problems in school, a lot of the teachers hated me. On top of that I had to deal with personal family problems, I had two uncles that were diagnosed with cancer. My mom would constantly be in and out of the hospital check in on them. Sometimes she wouldn’t even show up to dinner. This forced me to transition from a kid to an adult.

I started school when I was five years old. I went to kindergarten – third grade at Ida Greene Lower Elementary School. I attended O.M.McNair Upper Elementary School fourth – sixth grade. My seventh and eighth grade year I was enrolled at Humphreys County Junior High School. While enrolled in junior high, I experienced my first one day suspension for skipping class and being on the high school end. My friend and I attempted to write a false excuse along with forwarding a teacher’s signature, but that failed. Yes, I received a punishment from my mother and it was not a GOOD punishment!! In addition, ninth – twelfth grade I attended Humphreys County High School where I graduated with the dynamic class of 2014. I graduated with honors also.

High School, 12th grade senior year and graduation just around the corner. I was fill with mix emotions and a churning stomach. Before I knew it, I wasn’t sure if I was going too actually graduate with a Diploma! All I could do is study and hope for the best. Obviously, graduation ceremony arrived. It was amazing, loud, and crowded with people. As I examined the area to find my parents, they appeared to be satisfied from afar; yet inside I was a failure.

The first time I ever experienced an academic challenge was in the 8th grade. I was told by my teacher that I would not do well at an early college high school; a school that offers students a chance to earn an associate’s degree while attending high school. My teacher believed my average grades meant I would not excel at school. She went as far as asking my mother if she was forcing me to attend my high school. My mother told her that attending Mission Early College High School (MECHS) was my idea. Later on in the year, I applied to the National Junior Honor Society and was rejected because my grade point average (GPA) was below the requirements. While other students with lower GPA’s and parents with money or time to give to the school were accepted. This experience was the first time I realized since my parents did not have the money or the time to donate to the school, I was in an automatic disadvantage in comparison to my peers. Despite these setbacks, I applied to MECHS and was accepted into the program.