Chris Frost Professor Trujillo English 50 30 August 2017 Essay 1: Narrative Writing Prompt: What has been your most important academic achievement? My grandma once pleaded to me that I could do better and accomplish anything I wanted. By this time, poor attendance was my specialty. My grades quickly diminished from a 3.5 to a 2.0 or lower. I could recall my grandma sitting me down and trying to persuade me to go to school. She would say that school was very important and that she expected more from me. More than I thought was possible; get good grades and stop being absent. At this time, I felt as if I was a failure and that was failing my family. This thought lingered within me throughout my school career: I needed to change my paradigm.. In order to change my way of living, laziness and procrastination needed to be eliminated. My absence was usually do to my stomach hurting, although I later found out that the pain was only from my nervousness from arriving at school with my poor attendance record. I was afraid of all of my peers judging me as I walk through a lecture. I started becoming introverted and would be too shy to ask questions in class because I had no self respect for myself or my …show more content…
Once I finally got a grip on school, it was very easy going. I was maintaining straight A’s through all of my classes and was no longer missing school. On the days I did miss, I completed the work the very next day. I wasn’t afraid of asking questions. I was finally becoming the person I’d always dreamed of becoming. This accomplishment was not a walk in the park: there were obstacles and distractions every which way. I rearranged my nights from coming home and sleeping to coming home and frantically studying because there was an exam coming up. I had diminished my sleep but my outlook on life rose with my grades. That very year, I succeeded in gaining a 4.0 grade point
Growing up, my parents never expected perfection but expected that I try to accomplish my best. The effort I’ve put forth in learning has been reflected in my grades throughout my high school career. I’ve entered myself in vigorous course work such as AP Government and AP English to become well prepared for my college career, all while maintaining a 4.4 grade point average this year. Not only do I engage in AP classes, but up until this year I had no study halls. I wanted my day to be packed full of interesting classes that I would enjoy learning about. My grades and choice of classes prove the effort that I put forth in my learning. Working hard now can only pay off in the future. Learning now creates a well-rounded human being. Working to learn is why I am so dedicated to my studies now.
Early in life I dealt with both my mother and father taking turns going in and out of jail due to their heavy drinking, Eventually my mother left for good eight years after I was born. Leaving me with my father dealing with his habit, but also realizing he had to raise three boys by himself. Through his method of parenting, work hours, and his drinking he didn't have much time to help direct me down a good path. So I never really had any motivation to do much in school, and also was terrified to try. Just to find out that I wasn't smart, or that I just couldn't do it. So now I am overcoming that fear and solidifying my volition to do well in school.
I was raised in an encouraging household where both of my parents greatly valued education. Although they were high school graduates, neither could afford to attend college; a combination of family and financial woes ultimately halted their path. As a result, my parents frequently reminded me that getting a good education meant better opportunities for my future. To my parents, that seemed to be the overarching goal: a better life for me than the one they had. My parents wanted me to excel and supported me financially and emotionally of which the former was something their parents were not able to provide. Their desire to facilitate a change in my destiny is one of many essential events that contributed to my world view.
During my first semester of my freshman year, I was the quiet, shy girl that just kept to herself and was focused on school. I always wanted to fit in with everyone but it just wasn't working out. So I became friends with some girls and started ditching school, and skipping classes. My grades were dropping throughout my second semester, and I knew what I was getting myself into. I turned into a girl who did not care about school and class work anymore. School just wasn't “for me.” At the end of the year I failed about 4 of my classes.
The thing that amazes me the most is how frightened we all were going into this school. So many things went through my mind before and even during the first week or so of my Sandy Run Middle School career. Going through the grades I became more outgoing and began to step out of my comfort zone. I would have never taken the challenges that came my way these past years if I had the same mindset as I did in elementary school. Although some times I didn't feel up to doing a load of work and acted lazy, I always tried my best to push myself and give it my all. I am extremely proud of myself for that.
English has never been my best subject. Reading books can be exciting, but the writing aspect of English can be dreadful. Somehow, however, I passed all my advanced English classes with at least a B, and my teachers always considered me to be “above average.” My impartiality toward English shifted to an indifference near the end of my high school career; my indifference then shifted to appreciation. This appreciation is attributed to American Studies and Honors Writing, the most difficult English classes at Belleville East Township High School. American Studies and Honors Writing have strengthened my writing skills beyond what I believed possible. I still do not believe that I am the best writer, and English may never be my best or favorite
I am awoken to the sound of tree branches hitting the window and a faint ringing in the distance. I slowly get out of bed worried about what is happening beyond my door. I grab my flashlight and quickly head downstairs. I immediately run into the kitchen yelling for someone, but no one answers. I frantically look outside and see the trees swaying and the night sky turning into swirling clusters of clouds. I quickly run into my younger brother’s room and see him shakily holding onto his bed post with tears streaming down his face.
Starting school was a little tough, I would get confused on the basic street smarts of school. Things like how to take notes, how to use a mechanical pencil and getting F’s on my papers for not writing my name tripped me up. But being the chameleon that I am, I adapt, blending
Let’s flash back in time to before our college days. Back to then we had lunch trays filled with rubbery chicken nuggets, stale pizza, and bags of chocolate milk. A backpack stacked with Lisa Frank note books, flexi rulers, and color changing pencils. The times where we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive, but we did. Through all the trials and tribulations school helped build who I am today and shaped my future. From basic functions all the way to life-long lessons that helped shape my character.
Though I was not fond of school at first do to the challenges early on in life not being able to understand the material at hand. For as long since I remember I had a fixed mindset where
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”-Malcolm X. I have always been brought up knowing that education was going to be my ticket out the door. Being a child, of two immigrant parents from Ghana, West Africa, I knew that my parents wanted me to have the best education possible. From my mother teaching me how to read, when she herself barely can understand the English language and going out her way to get a tutor for us. From my mother, making me recite my multiplication facts every night before I went to sleep as a way to reinforce concepts learned in school. Summer days that were filled with trips to Barnes and Nobles with my mother to get math and reading skills books.
When I heard the news of the tornado warning, I made sure to pick up the phone and warn my friends; Angela and Gigi, who happened to go to the mall without me… It was not even minutes later before I had all of them on the phone telling them to hurry to my house, so we can hide in the basement. It was September 2013, and I was at home by myself. When I told my friends about the warning, they actually thought that I was joking. I made sure to make them come, because if they get swiped out from the tornado, I will literally die… When they came, we gathered everything we would need. Then, we entertained ourselves while hiding, and after, came something serious…
As I started to advance into my high school education, I noticed that my attitude about school and grades was not going to get me anywhere. I went to school and goofed off with my friends and did enough work to get a decent 70 on my work and go home. I had no “active responsibility”, as Freire would say, because I didn’t have anything to motivate me to want to do well. It all changed when I started high school at Bear Grass Charter School. Bear Grass had just reopened as a charter school my freshman year. I was a new beginning for me because not only was I starting out at a new school, but I started to realize that I needed to improve my self-effort in my classes. I knew that I wanted to be a nurse when I graduated and I
My journey as a student has always been focused on the path to college and success. Before I even set foot in kindergarten my mother, a college dropout, always told me that “honor roll wasn’t an option” and that I would be attending college in the future and achieving a degree. Most of the time I made these requirements. Most of the time I was awarded honor roll or had a newly edited list of colleges to attend, but sometimes life got in the way of my dreams of achieving success.
We were responsible for managing our homework and schedules. We were not nagged into studying, and did not rely on their reminders to do our work. This was not a burden for me, but a freedom. They encouraged us to put every effort we could into our work, but if we didn’t we were the ones who would bear the consequences. We were punished for never “encouraged” to do well with money or treats. My mother and father emphasized the personal responsibility and consequences of education, instead of using material items as incentives. Because I felt responsible for my education, I wanted to do the best possible. I knew my efforts in school reflected on me personally, and I wanted to do well. I knew that if I could not get A’s in my classes because of a difficulty understanding or learning material, or for other similar reasons, it was fine, but if I only did not get A’s because I did not put effort into my work, it was my fault, my responsibility, and my regret I had to deal with. This understanding and outlook has helped me to do well in school, and motivated me to be a determined, hardworking