This year has been absolutely crazy! I did not even know that it was my last year of high school until April 28 when I received my Certificate of Proficiency (which is the same as a diploma without all of the high school drama), but that I shall talk about later on.
My junior year started out the same as last year and the year before that, but it kept getting more and more stressful. At the beginning of the year I was Rifle Captain of my schools color guard, in a couple difficult classes (chemistry and pre-calculus), and also working in the school cafeteria. At the end of September, my mom began to under go some testing to see if she was eligible for a brain surgery to help stop her epilepsy.
In October, my competition season started and we went from 3 practices a week, to 4 plus a show to perform on Saturdays. So keeping up with all my class work was definitely a difficult task. Color guard and band were winning all of the competitions and were becoming very successful..Which ended up putting more pressure on the leaders to keep up all of the good work of course. My mom passed all of the preliminary test and we just went to the doctors twice this month for MRI’s.
November came around and I ended up blowing up at my coaches and quitting guard (one of the best decisions I have made). So I had a lot more free time and was easily able to handle the classwork I had. One of my closest friends encouraged me to sign up to take the California High School Proficiency Exam so I could graduate early.
December, yay two week break!!! By now I have really gotten to know my teachers and bonded with them. My favorite teacher at this point was definitely my history teacher Mr. Walker. He was always so kind and helpful to me when I had to help my mom get around and had to miss school.
January, a new year, a new me! Just kidding same old me but more stressed. I ended up deciding to sign up for the California High School Proficiency Exam (taken March 21) and just seeing how I do on it. I also registered to take the ACT (taken April 18) just in case the exam did not work out to my favor. During this month it was the end of the first semester and I had finals to worry about. Somehow I amazingly passed all of my finals and had a 4.2 as my first semester GPA. Towards the end of this month my mom had to undergo a very extensive test. She needed to take the WADA test. What this test does is basically block one side of your brain from sending information to the other side. This test had a lot of risks to it but was necessary in order to move forward for surgery.
February, results are in!!!! My mom passed the WADA test and will now be having the brain surgery on April 2nd. This is also when I got the results for my first semester grades. In my English class we got a student teacher, Ms. Kayla Marley. Honestly I did not like her right away because she gave a lot of work while our other teacher gave none. However, she seemed really young and nice so I didn’t right away start complaining about her to my friends…much.
March is here. I am doing really well in all of my classes so far and am prepping for the CHSPE. I started liking the new student teacher Ms. Marley, but could see that she was a really tough grader and picked favorites. Towards the end of March my moms brain surgery was pushed up to March 30 and we were in a frenzy to get everything ready for her to go. The day of the surgery was a very emotional day for my family and I, but everyone gave us so much love and support. My history teacher Mr. Walker was one of the most supportive of all my teachers. He let me miss assignment dates and helped get me my homework.
April. I missed to first couple days of school in April because of my moms brain surgery, but good news! The surgery was very successful and so far no seizures. I had to make up a lot of school work, plus a bunch of tests, but my teachers worked with me and were very supportive. I started to like Ms. Marley more and more because she was a very fun teacher and was to bad with homework. During spring break I had to take my ACT and was super nervous about how I did. I also got asked to prom by my boyfriend right after I took my ACT test soooo I was emotionally and mentally wrecked. On April 28 I got my scores for the CHSPE and I passed. No more High School!!!
May. Last month of high school!! I have been keeping up with my grades applied to Orange Coast College….and got it, and been applying for grants and scholarships. My English teacher still picks on her favorite kids and sometimes is a little to showy with her emotions. She is a great teacher, but can sometimes really let her anger show through. My dad has gone back to work (not taking care of my mom anymore) and so my mom is now home alone. She is still doing very well and has no seizures since the surgery.
June. This is the end! I will hopefully finish my second semester with a 4.0 GPA. As I reflect on my last year I am really thankful to all my teachers and friends who have stuck by me through everything. I honestly do not regret anything I did this year, well except blowing up at my coaches but I did apologize. I have honestly really disliked my high school experience up until these last few months. I was bullied for most of it and was never truly able to make good friends. So leaving this year, I am proud of who I am and what I have done.
-Erin
Through My Eyes 