“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… ”; this story is interesting because it is still being written. As a junior in the Early College Academy, I will never get to experience being a true senior. High School has been a lot of things but mainly it’s just been the same as middle school, love and hate. I love this school and my journey through it has been pretty life changing. As a freshman coming in, I thought I was pretty cool. At Eastern Guilford Middle School in 8th grade, I was a top wrestler, talked to a lot girls and was pretty outspoken.
Then suddenly it was like being in sixth grade all over again. I didn’t know how to get around the school nor did I know who to talk to about anything, people were so much larger and everyone dressed so much differently than I was accustomed because I had been wearing a uniform since the 3rd grade. Luckily, laughter is a universal language and I made some news friends almost immediately, friends that I am still close to today and will probably be around for the rest of my life.
Coming into high school, I wasn’t the richest kid so I didn’t have all the fresh clothes, I was decent and it could have been far worst but still I was far from the top. I thought that I knew how to talk to females but when I got to Dudley, things changed. Eventually I gave on trying to be popular and focused my attention to trying to be a freshman star wrestler. I met coach Quentin Crosby about week after school started and this man absolutely changed my outlook on life. He boosted my confidence to a level that I had no idea even existed and h made me believe that I could be the best wrestler of all time.
Even being in the academy, my classes weren’t horrible and I got by fairly easy and as freshman on varsity I dedicated my life to wrestling for that man Coach Crosby and my freshman year was pretty amazing, I would actually love to experience it all over again because looking back on it was a beautiful and happy time in my life. I had no worries. Heading into my sophomore year, I was a completely different person. I had matured both physically and mentally and I had developed a sort of swagger. I dressed a little better and after wrestling all summer my confidence was at an all time high.
Needless to say, female interaction was much smoother this time. I actually started dating the girl that I’m with today around the start of sophomore year. But where there is joy, there is also pain. Coach Crosby died of cancer the first week of schools and it destroyed me. It felt as if I was a car and someone took my engine out. After about a month of mourning I was able to shake it off and get back to normal. I still didn’t know the hallways of Dudley High School but like the year before my schedule was pretty mellow and I had a lot of laughs.
I made the tragic mistake of cutting my own hair over winter break and my friends never let me hear the end of it. The worst part of the year had to be when I broke my arm at a wrestling tournament in January and ended up missing the rest of my season. But the school year ended on a good note, I finished all my math credits that year and all in all things were great. Junior year has absolutely been the worst school year of my life. It started off wrong from day one. My father didn’t take me shopping like he was supposed to the week before school so at the beginning of the year I wasn’t wearing the clothes that in wanted to wear.
I was thrown in the gauntlet of AP English, AP US History, H Nursing Fundamentals and AP Biology. My wrestling team was in shambles in the aftermath of Crosby’s death and I have just been miserable all year. It seems that between my teachers, coaches, parents and girlfriend that someone is always unhappy. I received the first F of my life this year in biology which absolutely devastated me and ruined my wrestling season. The unspeakable things that I have been asked to do in the nursing home has diminished my faith in humanity slightly.
Then on top of it all it only seems to get harder. Four of my classes are all year so I didn’t receive that 2nd semester relief that I was accustomed and these classes have just been kicking my but, in fact as I’m typing this paper it is now 3:28 am on Wednesday, just to put in perspective what I go through. Although it has been tough, I can say that I’ve learned a lot this year, not necessarily book wise but in general. Things like prioritizing and building a relationship with your counselors and your teachers is essential to making it through high school.
Like I state I stated previously, I am only a junior and my high school story is still being written. Even with all the bad, I would not have done anything differently because I believe in learning from my mistakes. Sometimes it takes you seeing an F on your report card for you to get your life together, sometimes you have to break your arm in order for you not to take your athleticism for granted. High school has been a balance of hardships and good times for me, I can only hope to make it through the rest of this year staying afloat but as of right now I am taking it one day at a time.
