Growing up in a large city like Los Angeles is quite the experience. You meet a lot of interesting people who are going to do great things. Some get full rides to play Division 1 football, others get to Ivy League schools like Brown and Yale, but there are others don't have a clue where their lives are going. Several of my friends got through high school and started working, which is not a bad thing, but their wages are below industry average. Most, if not all, thought about going to college at one point. They were told that it was expensive, not worth their time, and they believed it. This is partly in thanks to one person that they run across who puts them down and makes them feel like they won't go places, so they lose their aspirations.
I vividly remember 7th grade, when a teacher flipped out because I got up to throw away some trash without his permission. The argument continued for a few minutes, it escalated very quickly and led to him saying "I'd be surprised if you made it through high school." Followed by a "You will probably have a kid, go to jail, or end up dead." I never liked that teacher to begin with, so it just made things worse. To say that to a 12-year-old is a little harsh. I didn't care about classes anymore, I had him for 6th period, which was after lunch. Sometimes I would skip his class and hang out in the library, or simply walk around. My attitude changed drastically, and my grades reflected it.
Other teachers asked if there was anything wrong at home, I replied no. If only they knew. A month later, all my grades dropped. The week that followed was an interesting one. It was the last test of the year, the last two questions were written on the board, and I had forgotten my glasses at home, Well that was quite the way to finish off the year. I raised my hand to ask if I could get up to see the questions because I had forgotten my glasses. I waited for about 10 minutes to get an answer. I decided to get up since he wouldn't answer me, so I did. Bad idea. He got angry, tried to shove me back to my seat. Things got heated, i thought about pushing him out of my way but that would only make things worse, so I grabbed my test ripped it up and threw it at him, and walked out. Bold move, Rudy. I sat by the stairs that were outside of the classroom, but he followed me out. He said not to return to his class, so I didn't. I ended up failing, the class was over, but I took something with me that year. Anger. frustration, and a lack of motivation.
The two statements he said followed me through early high school. I barely tried. This time it was different thought, I was placed in Honors Literature & Composition, Honors Algebra 2 and Honors U.S. History after taking the California High School Exit Exam. That is where I met Ms. Aurora Mellado, my junior year. I remember her getting mad because I said I'd probably end up working after high school. She had seen my writing and heard me during discussions. She told me I had potential, that I could do anything I set my mind to. That's the day that changed my life. I finished high school with a 3.9 and 3.85 GPA, junior and senior year, respectively. I had a new goal, try to prove that middle school teacher wrong. I graduated from high school, I'm about to graduate college in a few weeks with no kids, alive and not in prison. So, take that Algebra 1 teacher. I was lucky enough to find someone who guided me in the right direction, but there are a lot of students who never find that.
Encouraging others because success is extremely hard. Without a good support system that is nearly impossible. So encourage people, ask them about their passions, if you can help in any way do so, they might return the favor someday, you never know. Find a mentor, and become a mentor too! Push the boundary every day, set goals, and think about where you want to be 5, 10, 20 years from now. Focus on those goals, the negative people will always be there, shut them out. Surround yourself with the people who you want to become like and soon enough you will. The sky is not the limit, push that limit higher every time.
