As my application is examined, it will come to the attention that no activities or descriptions are included from my sophomore year of high school. That would be because I actually did not have a sophomore year. Advancing forward a full year in high school would have to be one of the most challenging, longest lasting, incredibly difficult circumstances that I have ever found myself in. Not only was this decision strenuous when it came to academic struggles, but I found myself facing family skirmishes, social problems, and issues with the Board at my school. Even though so many obstacles could have been avoided by choosing to take the easiest route available to me, I would not trade my experiences for anything because ultimately, they formed me into the person who I need to be in order to pursue my dreams and taught me more than I could have ever imagined learning.
When I first decided that I was interested in and willing to work in order to skip a full year of schooling, I was in the eighth grade. The whole idea of advancing myself seemed more than surreal to me at the time. The day that my college and careers counselor first told me that she believed that I had the grades and the drive to begin my college years earlier than I believed possible, I was ecstatic and stared in disbelief. Immediately, I told her that I was more than interested and expressed my motivation to get even more ahead in my schoolwork. The day ended with a couple of phone calls in order to receive permission from both of my parents in order for me to begin more advanced courses and with me being handed packet full of information about taking those online summer courses. After the permission was granted for me to pursue an early graduation, the real work began to kick in. …show more content…
Academia was always somewhat of a safe haven for me because of its consistency of the promise that if you worked hard, you would receive one hundred percent yielding of your efforts. I immersed myself with excitement in every Honors or AP class that was available to me and did my absolute best in each of the required courses that I would need. For me, summers were no longer for relaxing or spending hours upon hours reading for pleasure. An online curriculum was set up for me during each and every summer in order to catch up to the class above me so I could officially move up amongst the years rather than lingering in limbo between two grades. Though the hours of school were tedious, the largest problems I faced were not math equations unfortunately. I grappled with the majority of my family no longer accepting the fact that I was passionate about graduating early. Many of them felt betrayed and believed that there was an underlying negative reason for my early matriculation. Somewhere between all the questions and doubts, I began to really wonder why I had been so motivated in the beginning of this as well. It took me a couple of weeks to really think through my decision and ultimately, I knew I was making the right choice for me and for my future. As well as family, there were also issues with dealing with my new classmates once I had officially moved from a freshman to a junior. I was obviously younger than the rest of the class and I suppose that translated as being an inferior in most of their minds with the exception of a few close and supportive friends. Through my efforts, it only took a few months for nearly everyone in the junior class to accept the fact that I had become one of them. Once they had, I began to build friendships I knew would last a life time and I found more people my age who had similar goals as I did and we began to discuss our futures. Soon I was absolutely certain that all of my work I had put in to this cause was one hundred percent worth it. It took every one of my social, conversational, and relationship building skills to form a good camaraderie with my new class. More than academics, this part of my circumstance helped me learn how to build relationships with likeminded individuals and to learn to communicate with multiple age groups
When I first decided that I was interested in and willing to work in order to skip a full year of schooling, I was in the eighth grade. The whole idea of advancing myself seemed more than surreal to me at the time. The day that my college and careers counselor first told me that she believed that I had the grades and the drive to begin my college years earlier than I believed possible, I was ecstatic and stared in disbelief. Immediately, I told her that I was more than interested and expressed my motivation to get even more ahead in my schoolwork. The day ended with a couple of phone calls in order to receive permission from both of my parents in order for me to begin more advanced courses and with me being handed packet full of information about taking those online summer courses. After the permission was granted for me to pursue an early graduation, the real work began to kick in. …show more content…
Academia was always somewhat of a safe haven for me because of its consistency of the promise that if you worked hard, you would receive one hundred percent yielding of your efforts. I immersed myself with excitement in every Honors or AP class that was available to me and did my absolute best in each of the required courses that I would need. For me, summers were no longer for relaxing or spending hours upon hours reading for pleasure. An online curriculum was set up for me during each and every summer in order to catch up to the class above me so I could officially move up amongst the years rather than lingering in limbo between two grades. Though the hours of school were tedious, the largest problems I faced were not math equations unfortunately. I grappled with the majority of my family no longer accepting the fact that I was passionate about graduating early. Many of them felt betrayed and believed that there was an underlying negative reason for my early matriculation. Somewhere between all the questions and doubts, I began to really wonder why I had been so motivated in the beginning of this as well. It took me a couple of weeks to really think through my decision and ultimately, I knew I was making the right choice for me and for my future. As well as family, there were also issues with dealing with my new classmates once I had officially moved from a freshman to a junior. I was obviously younger than the rest of the class and I suppose that translated as being an inferior in most of their minds with the exception of a few close and supportive friends. Through my efforts, it only took a few months for nearly everyone in the junior class to accept the fact that I had become one of them. Once they had, I began to build friendships I knew would last a life time and I found more people my age who had similar goals as I did and we began to discuss our futures. Soon I was absolutely certain that all of my work I had put in to this cause was one hundred percent worth it. It took every one of my social, conversational, and relationship building skills to form a good camaraderie with my new class. More than academics, this part of my circumstance helped me learn how to build relationships with likeminded individuals and to learn to communicate with multiple age groups