What Helped Me Grow
Manhattan Hunter Science High School really slapped me in the face and taught me a lesson or 7 about myself. Before I attended Manhattan Hunter I thought of myself as being an above average student but once I stepped into this high school I encountered a challenge. Since I was in elementary school, every single year I was always on the honor roll, which was also challenging considering I moved from New York when I was 8 to Alabama and then to Florida when I was 9. In a matter of two years I experienced different educational experiences especially since Alabama and Florida has very strict and different education systems. Going through these challenges I still continued to do well and excel more than other students. Coming to Manhattan Hunter made me question my intelligence and made me think the schools I went to were simply not high-quality.
But then I started to realize that when I went to the high school, after freshman year I stopped trying because I was frustrated about the large quantities or work. As The work kept getting harder, I stood in my own ways of success. I started to socialize more and became more into Aim and MySpace. My dad always used to tell me “get on the right track Natalie, always put your books before everything else. This world is getting worse and worse and you don’t want be stuck out there with nothing.” This would make me try for a while but then I would stop again. I regret these decisions because now my grade point average is mediocre because I did not take responsibility and listen to advise given to me by someone who knows the real world. I could have always pushed harder to achieve something bigger.
This experience taught me that I needed to take part in my community and help people in need. I began going to animal shelters, helping out in my step-moms nursing home and helping in my grandmother’s church. This also helped me with my communication skills by helping me to be more sociable with people. As a kid and a young teenager I was always timid and not active with friends and school activities. But I really grew to like doing things in school and not rushing out once the last school bell rang and I learned how to communicate and began to grow strong friendships with my classmates and teachers. I think if I would have picked any other school to go I would I have never grown as much as I did educationally and sociably. Now, as I head off towards college, I know that I need to take my work seriously and communication, socializing and helping out are the best qualities to have for success.
