As a kid you always think about getting to the next stage of life. Starting preschool was the first for me, it’s a little fuzzy but I remember quite a bit of it; the change in atmosphere was so invigorating. I was no longer babied and I had come to a part of my life where I was able to focus on something longer than five minutes. In kindergarten, I obtained even more opportunity and the way I saw the world as a whole changed, girls weren’t gross anymore for example. From there, I was able to further develop the putty that would eventually become my personality, mind and, in a way, fallibilities. Yet the most outstanding change during my academic career was the point in which I developed my own opinion; I stopped believing what everyone told me for the sake of them telling me; I questioned everything. That was the outlook junior high bestowed: An outlook that further matured when I attended Monterey High school.

Once I arrived at Monterey High, I started to feel out my way in life, find people I identified with and people began to follow the beat of my drum instead of the other way around. For the first time in my life there was a stable feeling of significance and self-worth, a feeling that could be justified by people who depended on me. So between work, loyalty with friends, and academics, I learned a new lesson of responsibility. There was a brief session there that I really thrived and believed the world truly was my oyster. Then everything changed when my family situation began to fall apart and certain strenuous circumstances forced me to move to Arkansas. I was plunged backwards, the entire atmosphere here had a different feel to it and I felt as if I had retained my original outlook in a brand new world. The schools were less developed and they shirked many personal freedoms I had enjoyed at Monterey, religion and ideology was force-fed. I felt as if I had lost my way in life and tapped into some hostile universe. I defensively started to live in my own world, instead of going out and mingling I started to go to the gym or just staying home alone.

I took a multitude of blow off classes just so I could coast along and get out of high school thinking that nothing in my schedule here could possibly help me. Searcy Lion Press, however, has given me some solace this past year. I, once again, was able to taste some of the freedoms consistent at my other school. I was able to be a part of new things as well as maintain my own personal sanity. Normally, I would just kind of bunker down and await graduation before coming back out of my shell, but the class mandated need for quotes which drove me to go out and experience new things and undertake new experiences.

Junior and senior year drug along, and were easily, the least engaging years of my entire life, but now I’m completely ready for college. I majorly look forward to the academic stimulation and the new people; above all else I look forward to being back in Texas. I expect to be able to fully blossom and set the pace for my adult life, like these last few years have. After graduation, I am going to work a few months to gather some money, then I’m going to Austin, where I will be attending a junior college called ACC. I intend to pursue my basics while holding a steady job and rooming with friends. I’ll knock out as many pre-requisites as I possibly can at Austin Community College then I will move on to University of Texas, where I plan on making my way towards a law degree.

I’m not real sure where I’ll go, but I embrace the possibilities. One thing is for sure: it has taken a lot to get this far.