When the superintendent of PGCPS announced that students would be back in school for the school year 2021-2022, I
was ecstatic, especially since I was fresh out of middle school and into high school. But for some reason my experience when I first stepped foot into Parkdale was nonexistent. Yes, I had the chance to tour the building the very first couple of days, but with social distancing and masks being mandatory during that period of time, I deemed the experience to be a disappointment.
I frequently questioned myself if it would stay the same for the next four years. It clearly wasn’t the case a year later when I became a sophomore. By then, the experience became more natural and I could actually feel the vibrations of high school like I desired them to be felt.
Personally, I felt that freshman year was the easiest of them all. The work was light and the teachers were not a headache at all. Sophomore year was also light work, and had some helpful teachers along the way to lend a helping hand.
Outside of school, I cherished playing with my two cats Hello Kitty and Tiger. Hello Kitty had her first set of kittens in April of 2022 and five months later she had her second set too. Of course I couldn’t keep all of the babies so I had to give some. But one of the ones that I kept became my right hand ‘till this day. His name is Jasper and he was a part of the first set born in April. I was able to relieve all of my stress playing with Jasper after school and enjoyed spending time with him, even if it meant turning assignments past the deadline. I don’t regret it.
My other best friend, Osita, was born later that year in September. She and I also enjoyed spending time with her, especially in the mornings where she enters my room and jumps in my bed as her way to say “good morning”. I wouldn’t trade my time spent with them for anything.
School-wise, grades were looking decent and relationships were intact. No drama or trouble was headed towards me.
It wasn’t until my junior year that I decided to finally give it a shot and tryout for the basketball team. Prior, however, I thought of doing football, but my mother wasn’t really on board with that.
When it came time for tryouts, the coach made us do 20+ suicides up and down the court, as well as some shooting and ball-handling techniques. I was definitely not prepared for this type of regime, so that stint was cutted short.
It was around this time that I gained interest in real estate, where I began reading books on real estate investing and how it pays off in the future.
Throughout my four years in high school, my grades were always decent and I’ve never become involved in any illegal or foolish activity. As for what the future might hold, I’ll focus on involving myself in the trades and becoming an electrician apprenticeship as well as being able to expand my portfolio of investments. For the ones looking to create a positive high school experience: choose your friends wisely and think about your future constantly, trust me it will have consequences later on.
