"You're going to be behind in college."

"It's going to be hard to catch up."

"Your writing is only good in comparison to your high school classmates. You'll be lucky if your writing is even average in college."

Coming from a low-income public high school, I've been told this plus many other things concerning my "college readiness." With a 3,000 student population and an average class size of 35, one can say that I lacked the quality of high school education needed to excel in college. However, even though I didn't go to a top high school, my high school has prepared me for what's to come as I begin college.

At my high school, I was told that I knew how to write well. But as I began to apply to top colleges, I was told I wasn't going to be "good enough" for college. The thing is, I don't want to make it seem like I'm the best writer in the world because I'm not. But I also know I'm not average.

I may not have received the "best" education, but I had the best education for me. I had teachers who supported me throughout my high school career, teachers that helped me improve my skills. I attribute many of my writing skills to my 11th grade English teacher, who did not only teach me how to write academic essays, but also taught me how to write with passion. As she commonly said: "It doesn't matter where you come from as long as you write from the heart." Writing became the art that let me express my ideas, and ultimately, my voice. Through every written word, came a small piece of my heart and my soul. My English teacher helped me elevate that already-passionate writing by teaching me different techniques to make my writing pieces flourish and stand out. It no longer mattered if I went to Bell Gardens High School or some prestigious private school because my teacher gave me that quality education, both inside and outside the classroom.

When one does anything with passion, heart, and drive, then one will never be just average. I have received positive feedback on the articles I have written for a couple of websites and have been recruited for a couple of other writing opportunities during college. I've shown everyone who doubted my writing skills to be wrong as I continue to express myself through my art. I still have a long way to go to become the best writer I can be, and yes, maybe in some fields, I will be behind in college. But like I was taught, if you do everything with passion, then you will never be behind or simply average; you'll be absolutely brilliant.