The hardest lessons I’ve learned is that I have to be educated and have the knowledge to understand how to succeed in life. I learned this when I was a freshman at McCluer High School. It can be very emotional when I realize I’m not able to recognize, explain, assist, or even response to individuals when asked a question. Now days’ people observe your character and knowledge. Fredrick Douglass observes that he regretted not having the knowledge or well-being of education, and often recalled that he should have killed himself. “I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed.” The irony of education can be overwhelming and painful. I can relate to Douglass because in the past I thought of committing suicide; I was stressed and overwhelmed when I didn’t know or understand something.
My mother, Lucy, always reminded us that, “In order for you to be successful in life you have to have an education background (Degrees or High School Diploma) and knowledge to get where you want to be in life.” At the time I wanted to do a lot. I wanted to be a doctor, culinary arts, chef, and a model. She recalled, “So what are you going to achieve to get the career you want in the future?” I replied I’m going to graduate from high school and go to college. My mom described in five words: hardworking, loving, strong, and supportive. Her character was open and she received whoever was in her presence. When she smiled it was like the sun had risen on a dark night, as if an angel approached shinning bright; she lit the world with her beauty. If you meet my mother she’ll greet you with happiness and defend your well-being like your family. This woman smelled like delicate flowers from Jesus’s garden. To be honest I’m a spitting image of her; we think and act similar.
For me McCluer High School was entertaining, fun, and tough at the same time. I used to joke around all the time in the hallways and classrooms. I did my work but often got side-tracked a lot and influenced to do negative things. I never fully realized that I wasted my brain and energy on negative and non-sense in school. For instance, I had a teacher, Mr. Friburguer, he was mean a hard philosopher, loud, weird, and no fool to education; he took his class very seriously. One day I was in Chemistry class conversing with my friend Jasmine while Mr. Friburger was giving a lecture. He asked me repeatedly to stop talking and pay attention; I laughed and started back talking with Jasmine like nothing was ever said to me; the words that came out his mouth went in one ear and out the other ear. Mr. Friburger then yelled at me annoyed and angry, “shut up or leave my classroom this instance” The classmates laughed at him and he told me to leave and report to the office; as I walked out he said “I’m sending a referral to the office.” I did not report to the office; I went to second lunch and saw some friends crowed around the bleachers.
I went to grab something to eat and decided that I wasn’t going to attend the rest of my classes. My friend Kayla came up to me and said, “You want to skip class and go get stoned?” Yes I replied, “Got to relieve some stress right now because my teacher just pissed me off.” I wanted to get out of this boring and lame school. Kayla got in her 2004 red Mustang, and started it up; she pulled off fast and sneaky so we wouldn’t get caught. I was driving behind the school getting high as a kite. I spotted a McDonalds. I order three burgers, two large fries, and two large drinks. I pulled up and paid for our food; as soon as I she gave us our food we was trying to bash it, so I pulled in a parking spot and starting eating. After we were done eating I realized that I had my last test in Chemistry worth hundred points; my grade was barely above a C. That day I made some terrible choices; I knew if I didn’t complete that test my grade was going to drop, but I went on doing me and did what I wanted to do.
I did not want to fail my class because it would have affected me not becoming a sophomore next year. What I did was going to my teacher Mr. Friburger the next day and apologizes for my wrong and asks for forgiveness. He responded, “I’m disappointed with your choices and actions because they don’t turn out well when you behave and disrupt my class while I’m trying to teach and develop your knowledge so that you can be successful in the future.” He said, “People make mistakes and life to learn from their actions but I’m proud of you for coming to me and owning up to what you did.” He suggested that I stay after and take the test to earn my hundred points that I missed. So I did and earned eighty percent on my test and my score moved my grade up to a B. Douglass remembers that every opportunity he got he took advantage of it to improve his ability to read. “I was now about twelve years old, and the thought of being a slave for life began to bear heavily upon my heart. Just about this time, I got hold of a book entitle, “The Columbian Orator”. Every opportunity I got, I used to read this book.” As a young woman at the age of fourteen, I related to him because in life I felt that every opportunity I had I took advantage of. For example, I had to take my test over; it was valuable to me because I knew if I took it and scored well I was passing the 9th grade.
I did a one eighty and realized what I was doing was going to lead me to destruction and down a bad trip to nowhere. Douglass remarks sorrowfully that he will be a slave for life because he’s owned by his evil slave master; but will hopefully be free in the future. The article implicates that Fredrick Douglass points out that, “You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, but I am a slave for life! These words use to trouble them; they would express for me liveliest sympathy, and console me with the hope that something would occur by which I might be free.” Even though I never pushed myself as hard as I should to improve my own education, I still felt that I was a slave to the evil spirit because I did things I shouldn’t have done and I was not as knowledge as others students. I can relate to him because I was a slave of the devil. I was a slave to society because I choose to drink, smoke, curse, and was judgmental to people; you living sinfully can hurt you on judgment day. I always tell myself don’t be a slave to society but be a human-being with knowledge and skills of education. Douglass is a slave because he had no choice but today people do and I realize that.
I changed my life dramatically sophomore year. School was still difficult and temptation still hunted me; I had to look passed that and do better with my life because I had little brothers and sister that look up to me as a role model. I followed these steps that I still had until this day in my journal from years ago to be successful in school and staying on the right path. I avoided loosing friends that encourages me to do right and drop the ones who were doing negative things. I kept a smile on my face and didn’t act tough. I threw away all my clothes that reminded me of the old me and started changing on the new me. Old me use to drink, smoke, and lived sinfully. I didn’t become a nerd but I paid attention in class, did my homework and classwork, stay after if I didn’t understand something or asked the teacher, and kept my grades above a D. I was prepared in every class and organized. I didn’t smoke marijuana as much as I did and cut down on partying every day; I only partied on weekends where I didn’t have to worry about me having a hangover or not feeling well to attend school. I studied for test. I stopped skipping classes. I started to read a little more.
One thing I noticed about students was that they didn’t keep their cool but I did. I knew If I was to get stressed I would want to smoke right then and there; I kept my cool to maintain and focus on school. Douglass acknowledges that after a long period of years, he finally succeeded in learning how to write. “Thus, after a long, tedious effort for years, I finally succeeded in learning how to write.” I can relate to him because I finally succeeded in learning, improving my abilities, skills of learning and doing what I was supposed to do; I graduated from high school and went to college to further my education. He showed me that life is not always perfect; it’s challenging but helpful at the end of your goal. People need to understand nothing is going to be handed to you you have to go out and get it to be successful in life; our knowledge and ability of education is very powerful and beneficial in this world.
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