Grade 12
MemoirWritingJarmani, age 18, is passionate about his family and sports. He likes to play the saxophone. When not in school, Jarmani is surrounded by vehicles and clients, helping his family run an auto shop. He will attend UMass Boston in the fall of 2023.
“So much was rushing to my head, first confusion on why this happened to me, then anger.”
As it was edging near the end of eighth grade, my friends and I all applied for the same school for our number 1 spot on the high school lottery. Months went by and, one by one, each of my friends were all accepted. We believed that we were all going to be accepted. We were so happy to all be in the same school. Life was going exactly as we planned.
Not for me, though. I was left behind. Rejected. Shocked. I was shocked so much my skin was starting to feel hot after reading that I was rejected from the school. So much was rushing to my head, first confusion on why this happened to me, then anger. My mother was also there in the room, she checked on me and said, “Entraste?,” asking to see if I got in or not. I looked at her and started to smile in an attempt to at least hide what I was thinking and responded with “no.”
I informed my friends of my situation the next morning at school. They were devastated, but there was nothing that we could do. It was beyond our power. So they wished me luck and we went on with the school year. Throughout the year, there were times we made fun of the situation, which I admit was funny at the time. Months later, it was time to put our caps and gowns on and finally turn our tassels to get ready for high school. They called my name onto the stage and it was an emotional day for all of us knowing what was going to happen. Throughout the summer we met up with each other a couple of times, not as much as we wanted to, because we all started to have busy schedules.
When school started, I was the most nervous I’d ever been. I didn’t know who to talk to, didn’t know where to go, and didn’t know what to do. I was just a quietly working student for a couple of weeks. Without my friends around, every day was the same and I was bored. Since there was no one there to distract me, I was completely focused on my work: did assignments, went to sleep, woke up, and went to sleep. I was in a cycle that I wanted to get out of, so I tried. I started talking to other people more regularly and, the ones I had enjoyable conversations with, I talked with more after. But even after getting friends I always kept working. I saw how the work I put in impacted my grades and it made me proud. It made my parents proud as well, so I treated my freshman year as my most important year for my grades. I’ve tried my best to stay on that track ever since. All my middle school year grades have been nothing in comparison to mine, ever since I’ve taken school more seriously.
This moment in my life impacted me by turning me into a better worker, not only academically. School was a place where I mostly cared about having fun. Now I see it differently. School can be fun sometimes but now I see it as a way out, into success. I’ve noticed myself working harder just to be better at anything really, it could be going to the gym more or even something as simple as video games. For example, my native Spanish teacher praised my efforts lately compared to last year. I just enjoy being better at everything, as if I’ve gained more competitiveness in my life. This competitiveness is a blessing for me. I’ve been able to do activities I enjoy normally at another level with the practice I put in.
This piece was originally published in What My Future Will Hold, A College Essay Anthology, Written by Class of 2023 by 826 Boston
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