Thomas Jefferson Middle School-Personal Narrative

Long, wide roads, small houses, steel fences, tall palm trees, a black Toyota parked at a yellow colored house, an abandon house, which looked like it was hunted, the front door was open and you can see from afar that inside there is nothing but darkness. The house was surrounded by trees and it was secluded from all the other houses around it. These were my view as I walked into an unfamiliar building called Thomas Jefferson Middle School. As I opened the blue wooden door and walked in the building, a tremendous chill came over me, which I have never felt before. The building was very cold; I started shivering as I was walking in. It was old and was not well cared for. The colors of the walls were faded and the elevators made the sound of

a dying animal when it moved. My first impression was not a good one, but as time passed, I started to love my school. Thomas Jefferson impacted my life in such a way that I can’t express it with words.
As the bell rang, the sound of the bell was estranged to me; it made a loud “tinkle” sound.

Walking through the dark hallway, I struggled to find the light every day. Going into my classroom felt like opening the door to a pathway to hell. I cried each and every day hoping and praying I would go back to the place I loved my whole life, my school back in Ethiopia. As I walked into my old school, past memories and emotion came rushing back to me. I saw my old hiding place, I would go there to get away from all my problems. It was beside the cafeteria, where a small room was located. The walls were dusty and the floor looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for a year, but I didn’t care because that was my place where I can hide from the rest of the world. One day I heard a knock at the door, I thought who in their right mind would want to come here, but as it turned out that day was the day everything changed and I met my best friend there. My whole perspective about school changed that day. The ugly building I did not want to walk into became like my second home. I realized I was lucky to have a school to go to, and most people don’t have a chance to even go to school. Going to my classes became the best part of my day. Having my best friend beside me taught me that I can accomplish anything if I try my

hardest.
Going to classes was my favorite part of my day. I especially remember my English class because that was my favorite class. The chairs were hard, but comfortable, the class was small and had only a few kids in the class. My teacher had those shoes which squeak every time she walked, looking at her shoes made me look at the floor. The floor was silver tile. Sometimes when the class gets boring, I would look up into the ceiling and I would see the flat and rectangular white ceiling.
The cafeteria was bigger than the classroom. The walls were whiter than snow. The floor had tiles and food was so different. The food came in a black tray, which had four sections. The first section was the food itself and the other section had milk, fruits and vegetable. I did not know what my food was but I was interested in trying new things. In my country, our food was injera and wot and this was completely different food to me.
This place had such a huge impact on me because this is where I met my best friend, which led me to become the person I am today. Visiting that place made me remember my friend and even though she is thousands of miles away, she will always stay close to my heart. Although this place started as a horrible place, it became a positive memory in my life. The color fading building that was once a nightmare turned into a beautiful palace that will have a place in my life.