Why I Left My Friends Essay

1324 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The effects of peer pressure

Why I Left My Friends When I began to take classes of higher difficulty in middle school, I also became exposed to the community that existed in and out of those classes. As I was assimilated into this tight-knit group, I found that I had never felt so comfortable or had so much in common with anyone else before. These people went on to become my best friends. We would do everything together. Hang out on the weekends, walk around the town, do homework etc. This group of ours was inseparable. I would not realize until halfway High School how true this was. Not far into my Freshman year I started feeling constrained. I found myself in a predicament only comparable to that of a cult member. Trapped in an extremely uncomfortable situation, …show more content…

I was not taking the advanced courses because of the challenge nor the merit that came with it. I took them because I loved to learn. I always felt that the regular classes in school did a very subpar job of giving me the full experience. The advanced courses however, did a very good job of encompassing all of the concepts and ideas. My friends at the time were not so lighthearted. They took these classes much too seriously. Going as far as to stay after school, buy extra books, and take practice tests just to ensure their “A.” I got A’s and B’s in a majority of those classes, and it was not because of extra help and practice work. It was because I had an honest interest in the subjects. Even to the last year of our friendship, when I “doubled up” on AP US History and AP European History. The teacher of these two courses was considered the most difficult teacher at our school. My friends critiqued me, telling me I had no chance of getting 5’s on the AP exams, and that I simply would not have time for the work. I ended up getting great grades in both courses, doing exceptionally well on the exams, and even befriending the teacher, who I now consider to be my greatest academic mentor. This is because I cared more about expanding my knowledge on the subjects rather than number crunching. I was also frequently criticised for how easy going and mellow I was about my education. It was always “Chris, you need to take things more seriously,” or, “Chris, your lack of motivation makes us feel uncomfortable.” Although the scolding I would receive was horribly irritating, it was much more bearable than the other factors that would lead to my dramatic

Show More
Related

  • Personal Narrative: Halloween

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    I was taking AP World History, my first AP class. Keeping up my grades in the class was one of my biggest concerns, but surprisingly, it turned out to be a relatively laid-back class without much homework. Throughout the year, the class was mainly notes and document analysis. The only difficult part of the class was the tests. They were long and arduous with several vague questions based on specific parts of the curriculum that we had only gone over lightly. The course became more vigorous as the exam date drew closer; we began writing more essays, the tests we took grew longer, there were after school study sessions, and even a mock

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Prodigal By Bob Hicok

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before my years in high school, I rarely put time and effort into studying and constantly associated with my friends at school; that is until I entered high school. The different competitive atmosphere at high school caused me to suddenly prioritize my studies ahead of everything else and my ambition became greater than ever. I began to interact less with my old friends and become less sociable with those around me. My parents also began to notice this drastic change and encouraged me to once in a while contact my old friends. During the beginning, I contacted my friends about two or three times a week, but the phone calls began to gradually diminish. I began to abandon my previous cheerful, ebullient nature in order to conform to the competitive, tense study environment at high school. As long as I successfully accomplished my goals and was accepted by others, I was willing to alter myself in order to assimilate into the mainstream environment. Through my hard work and perseverance, I was able to reach my goal and receive the acknowledgement of others; however, despite fulfilling all my ambitions, I did not feel any joy or satisfaction within myself. Even though I successfully accomplished my objectives in school, I realized that in return I completely sacrificed my social life. Despite being accepted by others, I began to feel a sense of loneliness and longed to

    Read More

  • Mike Rose Essay

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Like Rose I was also placed into classes that didn 't help me out in any other way. Classes like ELL (English language learning) and some require course like art, and some repeat classes from middle school like us history. I like history, but I don 't like classes that teaches the same subject over again. I don 't dislike ELL, but feel like it limited student ability to be creative. Having to be taught boring diction and punctuation over and over again from one ELL class to another. The classes I was put in didn 't engaged me. up till high school where I could partially take any class I want, but still was forced into an art class for two school years. I decide to write about Mike Rose piece because I had similar experience in my education.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: How Depression Changed My Life

    469 Words  | 1 Pages

    As a young adult in high school I was given a lot of responsibility along with peer pressure to exceed my family’s principles. The first day of high school as a freshman, was overwhelming, stressful, and full of anxiety. I felt as if I had no one to count on including my family and friends. Felt alone most of the time and didn’t unspoke about problems that began to bother me emotionally, physically, and mentally. My problems arose freshman through sophomore year. I reached a point where I could no longer keep this a secret.

    Read More

  • Willis Bilagody Changed My Life

    503 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hanging with friends were always different because I only saw them on the weekends, but as a senior, I’m almost with tthem 24/7. Giving up these things were significant because working at a job, school work, and sports were always hard to balance around. But I guess it me a better person and more humble (Cliche). “He was fine during the ascent , but as soon as he started down he lost it mentally and physically. He turned into a real zombie, like he’d used up everything.” (Krakauer 254). This quote stood out to me because with all the “responsibilities” I had were all just so tiring and made me feel like

    Read More

  • My Seclusion In The Evangel Heights Community

    1270 Words  | 3 Pages

    For my entire pre-college education, I attended Evangel Heights Christian Academy. Despite our constant complaints about dress code and school lunches, we as students all appreciate the pleasant atmosphere that Evangel Heights offers. Although a great school offering a solid Christian education and providing teachers that genuinely cares for their students, Evangel Heights often traps students in a sheltered environment where students build a wall shielding themselves from surrounding schools and communities. I perceived this fact when I realized that several of my friends in high school did not know anyone outside of their own family and the sixty students in the high school. Even though I generally consider myself to be a passive and introverted individual, I was encouraged to break my comfort zone because of the benefits that I could gain in the plethora

    Read More

  • What Is Fear Essay

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    All of my classes in high school I passed with no struggle. I would cram all the knowledge that I needed for a test the night before, so I thought college would not be any different. A week or two before my first ever college exam the professor announced that if we had not already been study, then we should start to right away. Being a young naive freshmen, I kind of blew the teacher off. Telling myself that I did not need to waste the next few weeks studying for one exam. So I waited until the last day to study. You might have an idea of what happened next. I failed the exam. Failing so bad that it would be nearly impossible for me to still get a C in the course. I could not even look at myself. The thought of disappointing my parents was making my stomach turn. This fear of failing the class was tearing me apart. The only chance at passing this class was if I turned myself into the perfect student. This meant turning things in on time, studying days in advance for exams, and going to my professor’s office hours. And that is exactly what I did. By some seriously hard work, long nights, and over a hundred red bulls, I was able to achieve a passing grade with a

    Read More

  • Why I Want To Achieve The National Honor Society

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s advancing society, knowledge has become an essential aspect to achieve a successful lifestyle. It is important that one demonstrates scholarship from the early ages to attain knowledge and understanding for the future. I like to challenge myself in my education by taking tough classes so it helps me to establish an effective work ethic that I can compliment with my career later on the road. Taking rigid classes and still maintaining an exceeding 4.0 GPA helps me to feel satisfied and pleased for my future. In my first two years at Westerville Central, I took all honors courses, which include Foundations of and American Literature and Composition, U.S and Global History, Geometry, Cell and Environmental Biology, and Honors Spanish II. Currently, in my junior year, I am taking Honors Algebra 2 and Honors Chemistry as well as AP Language and Government and still maintaining an above 4.0 GPA. All of the classes that I have took or I am taking right now were all challenging in their own way and required extensive studying. Going beyond grades, all of those classes also helped me to form a promising work ethic that will defiantly prove worthy in the...

    Read More

  • The Five Yamas of Hatha Yoga

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...cult. When my father lost his job, our family lost many of the comforts that we once took for granted due to a reduced income. Money became a very large issue and with it came many limitations on wants and desires that were so accessible before my father had lost his job. Furthermore, the loss of his job brought about immense shame for my father. Yet, rather than become embarrassed over my father losing his job and sad due to the fact that I could no longer have as many material possessions, I came to accept the different lifestyle. By letting go and accepting, room was made for new experiences, joys, understandings, and lessons. For instance, I now appreciate things that I took for granted in the past and realize the lack of necessity for materialistic objects and desires and I feel that as a result, I have become a more appreciative human being as a whole.

    Read More

  • School Daze

    498 Words  | 1 Pages

    I have often wondered what it would be like to experience the freedom of choosing my own class schedule. This has to be infinitely more stimulating and enjoyable. I am also aware that college will be significantly more challenging, but I have always found it easier to study for a class that interests me. I am willing to accept the fact that as long as I am in school, there will be required courses which may not engender excitement or enthusiasm; however, success should not be as difficult to achieve due to the maturity that is developing during this last year of high school. In addition, I have gained an understanding of the benefit of being well rounded. There is value in all classes taken. It helps to know that even my least favorite subject will contribute to the ultimate goal of personal and career development.

    Read More

  • Reflective Essay: Moving To The US

    697 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, the difficulties I was experiencing during my first year of high school made me realize that it was imperative to meticulously scrutinize the way I studied in order to ameliorate and become the student I used to be. Additionally, I became aware that my ability to speak English was affecting me, but later I came to the conclusion that if this was a determining factor in my performance in class, I had to challenge myself by engaging in more rigorous courses. As time went on, however, due to the fact that I was surrounded by students I considered to be far ahead, I felt very intimidated by my advanced classes. Furthermore, I became aware that some of my teachers from the advanced placement classes seemed to doubt my ability to perform at the level expected, just by hearing my accent. To be condemned to failure simply because I did not speak English the same way my fellow classmates did, was a terrible sinking feeling. Nonetheless, this circumstance made me very diligent in all my classes, for it made me very attentive to the topics discussed, and it made me evaluate the extent to which I studied. As a result, with my grades and work ethics throughout the year, I proved those teachers wrong and received an apology from the one I came to admire

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: My Proudest Moment

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ever since I was little I’ve been what you would call a “high achieving” kid. I did well in school, I did well in sports and I did well in my community. I was always the first one to class, and the last one to leave the field. I was the kid that all my friends’ parents compared their children to. I was the kid with a room full of trophies and awards. In my mind, the worst possible thing I could do was disappoint the people around me. In elementary school I was involved in every club imaginable. I was in the band, I played in the orchestra, I sang solos for chorus, I was in the math club, I was president of student council, I played travel soccer, I was involved in every activity possible, and I excelled in all of them. This

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: My Medical Experience

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    I began taking advanced placement classes to challenge myself, to be the best I can be. Although it was difficult to maintain good grades, practice 10 hours a week for the swim team, and working a part-time job, I enjoyed the push and the outcome I received at the end. Due to wanting to be in the Medical field, I took Honors Anatomy and Physiology in order to learn more about the human body; prepare myself for the memorization and the use of note cards. All the information felt like my head was bottled up, I wanted to enjoy my high school years, because “they pass by so fast, make the best of them” my brother would constantly say to me but failed to mention if I really wanted to do what I loved, I had to let all that go and focus on school; which became my biggest responsibility. There were times where I just wanted to take the easy way out and drop the class, but I knew no good would come from that; instead I balanced out my schedule by prioritizing my time between school, practice and work.

    Read More

  • Personal Statement: Goals in Nuclear Engineering

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout high school I have placed myself into the most challenging science and mathematics curric...

    Read More

  • My Academic Journey

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    Living up to my resolution, I joined several clubs, both in and out of school and academic and recreational. I also met some of my very best friends in high school. Achieving all of this, friends, memberships to academic clubs and good grades, made up my first successful experience in high school. I was driven by the years in middle school and the promise that I made to myself at the end of eighth grade. Throughout my under classmen years I exceled in all subjects and thoroughly enjoyed the clubs I had joined. I think my downfall for the last two years of school was that I took for granted my good grades and as my classes got more rigorous I didn’t change the way I learned the material, but continued on the same path that I had been following my entire academic career, even when my grades were slipping slightly. Halfway through my senior year, I realized I needed to change the way I was learning the curriculum my instructors were teaching. I’ve always been the type of student to take good notes or listen to a lecture and understand everything the first time around, as was the case in elementary school and middle school. But my more rigorous classes proved to be a challenge for me and I did not know the proper way of learning the material on my own. I started by asking more questions in class and then going to my friends for help on subjects I didn’t understand. After many questions and after school tutor

    Read More

More about Why I Left My Friends Essay

Open Document