Narrative

Learned but Not Forgotten At one point in our lives we have certain events that mold and shape us into the people we are today. People go through ups and downs in life but can always look back at that certain “special” moment and appreciate with confidence about the lessons learned. When I was younger, I moved from home that I knew all my live to a completely different place of unfamiliarity. And with this change, my family chose to send me to a new school at which I learned a lot about myself and helped how I approach things in everyday life today. When I was younger, my family sent me to a charter school called SSAS. I had never heard of this type of school before in my entire life. You could say that I was “sheltered” for most of my life because I attended a private Christian school. I had never really met many people from different backgrounds and cultures before. While at The Tabernacle, there were about twelve to fifteen kids in a class at best however in SSAS I remember the classes having nearly twenty-two or twenty-four kids. The pure size of the population at SSAS was just something I’ve never seen before. During my transition to unity became more and more satisfying, I began to wonder if this was what I really needed to experience in my life. While going to SSAS I met a bunch of new and exciting people that I continue to have friendships with even today. I can remember going into the wrong class room on the first day of school. Not only did I feel terrified and embarrassed but also angry at myself. I couldn’t figure out this “new” school atmosphere and how everything worked at this school. I felt completely alone in the first months since my arrival at SSAS. Soon I became more comfortable in this type of environment and developed a new kind of personality. Now I’ve always been a funny person but being at SSAS I molded into an almost comedian like person. I started be-friending people from different races and found out that they enjoyed my company as much as I enjoyed them. After the first couple days of school my mom sat down and talked to me about why she made this decision. She asked me if everything was going alright in my new school and I told her that it wasn’t going well. I asked her “why did you send me away from all my friends'” and she told me to make new friends because this was where I’m staying for a while. I thought nothing of the words she said because I couldn’t believe staying here for that long. We continued to talk about the idea of changing schools but my mother’s decision was “set in stone”. Looking back on the entire move from different schools, I understand now that it really helps shape the type of person I am today. Being part of different social groups allowed me to enhance my communication skills with meeting new people. I know some people that I went to school with at The Tabernacle and their parents were “shaky” about what to do with their children after elementary school. Now I was slightly more advanced in certain areas because of my private education. Alongside my friends I continued through this vast community of a school and learned many things that I use today. I was fortunate to have sports programs at the public schools I went to because I know people that go to private schools without these same programs. I’m not implying that whatever you get into in junior high or high school but even today those things are a big part of my life. After I graduated from these schools at the appropriate times I began wonder what is there in life for me to accomplish. Whatever it is that I may become interested in I will always call back on things from my past. While being at SSAS, I met my friend Javi. I viewed him as a little unusual but somehow I could relate. Since SSAS is a charter middle school with no other grade levels we all were new to this place. I quickly picked up the ways that kids did things around the school. One day Javi asked “Hey Nate, you want to play football'” and I replied “sure thing Javi”. I didn’t tell him that I had never played before but it seemed easy enough. After playing the game Javi and I sat and talked about where we had come from before SSAS. He told me that he came from Mexico and had only been here in the states for a few years prior. Before meeting Javi, I had never met someone from a different country. I couldn’t imagine moving to a new country, let alone a new school. Now as I look back I’m very happy that I met Javi because his friendship showed me how great it is to have friends from different backgrounds. I’m still friends with Javier and since that time I have made countless friends. This part of my life really set me up for my high school years. So basically he’s an overview of my life changing event in a nut shell. My mother made the decision to send me to a new middle school since the Tabernacle was getting too expensive. She assured me that this was a great move and I had nothing to worry about. When I got to SSAS the entire school had more multi-cultural people then I had ever seen before. Now I acquired mixed emotions about being at this school. Some of it was excitement for a fresh start but most it was anger towards my mom. She didn’t understand that going to the tabernacle was everything I knew. I grew up with all my friends that I had since kindergarten. Back to SSAS, there I was seeing the waves of kids running around and feeling people bumping into me. This place was a zoo and I wanted no part of it. The first class was backed with kids like a garage full of unwanted crap. And I remember the way other kids would talk to the teachers with such disregard for their respect. The lunch rooms were again packed with people and the lines for food were like waiting in line for a roller coaster ride. I was just easily over whelmed by all this happening. I never dare think about doing this kind of stuff. I’m not saying that these were bad kids or anything it was just an eye-opening experience. While I’m glad that I moved on from the TAB I used all my knowledge learned there to stay above the crap that gets teens into trouble. The way I’ve become the person I am today is through years of self-evaluating and growth in relations. I don’t think without these certain experiences that I could be that same. I heard many a time of how much a great person I’ve become. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I learned things such as responsibility, loyalty, manners, kindness, and probably anything else that ended in ess but if your child doesn’t have these set of values then I’m afraid they’re end up like most teenagers. With all of this, I became I well-rounded person that could relate to people on any scale. People like me for who I am and a lot of that is due to the way I was brought up. Being able to fluctuate in two completely different environments says something about my character. When I was younger I didn’t realize what the outside world had to offer. This knowledge became well known after I graduated from SSAS and Booker High School I always enjoy it when people try to say mock me or comment on good gestures that I perform in public. I simply smile and state that it just the way I was brought up. In today’s society not many people have great morals and values in the life. This saddens me yet it quickly reminds me of how fortunate I was to have such a great opportunity in my life. Kids just aren’t the same in today’s society so I’m very grateful that I’m not one of those ignorant people. Parents should look towards finding the right move for their child when they’re young and install in them good principles so it can set the foundation for their lives in the future. After the turmoil of middle school I went onto high school where all the problems seemed to enhance. It was another challenge for me but thanks to the transaction from charter to public I turned out just fine. This narrative is about me and my one event in life hopefully you can or will have yours.