Past,
Present, Future
The start of my
junior year in high school was very nerve wracking. I had decided to join the law
academy, and had taken wrestling instead of P.E. for sixth period. At eight o’clock,
I entered my forensic science class. As I walked through the door, I saw many
faces I had never seen before. The only person I recognized was my friend,
Angel. So naturally, I took a seat right next to him. He was surprised, yet
happy to see I had joined the law academy class. I was relieved to know at
least one person for my first day of school. After my fifth class, I realized
something terrible. I had the same law academy students for all five classes. I
was so disappointed that I would have to see the same people all day every day.
I felt Angel would be the only person I would get to know for the rest of the
year, and never meet anyone knew. As the day went on I made it to sixth period,
wrestling. There, I did not know a single team member. Since the wrestling team
was coed, only one other girl and l were on the team. This made it even more
difficult to fit in. At the end of the day I felt hopeless and depressed. I couldn’t
see how the year would get any better. Some time passed, and little by little I got
to know most of the Law Academy students. Many of them were very friendly which
made the year fun and bearable. My only problem was my sixth period class.
Wrestling wasn’t easy to commit to at first, I had difficulty learning
technique and making friends. The boys were very cold towards me, mostly
because they assumed I wasn’t going to try hard, or truly commit, like most
girls in past. However, as the year dragged on I improved my skills, and gained
slightly more respect from the team and the coaches.
My
senior year was somewhat more satisfying. I was able to socialize with all the
law academy students from last year. I had two of the same teachers I had my
junior year, which made me feel comfortable, and I still had wrestling for
sixth period. My last year of high school was very difficult. My law academy
teacher had spent most of the year preparing us for the SAT, college, and work
in the future. I had a large amount of work for that class, but I was able to gain
practice and knowledge for the future. Also, wrestling had changed for good.
Over the summer I had practices, which consisted of lifting weights, running,
and wrestling. I was stronger, faster and more skillful then my junior year.
This caught my assistant coach’s eye, which made him work me harder than ever
before. He prepared me for the all girls CIF Wrestling Tournament. There, I
took fourth place at the tournament which qualified me for the California State
Tournament. I made it to the top twelve, but disappointingly did not place in
the top eight. Therefore, I did not receive a medal. Both of these factors made
my senior year one of the toughest years of my life. However, I was very
pleased to be able to graduate high school and move on to college.
I am now working
and attending college classes to fulfill my general education. I hope to receive
my associate’s degree, and then transfer to a university. I am not certain what
I want as a future career. Hopefully I can figure it out while I attend Oxnard College.
Right now, I am interested in becoming a veterinarian, so next year I will be
taking some classes at Moorpark College, because Oxnard College does not
provide classes for this career. I hope to discover what I want to do as soon
as possible
