Twenty Years Later. There is a weird feeling that I get from saying that I've been alive for a whole twenty years, and I'm sure many other millennials feel the same way. It was as if only yesterday I was in grade school, with not even a good idea on what crazy path that God may lead me. I believe that this past decade came with many challenges and events that would mold me into the young man that I am today. Ladies and Gentlemen, in honor of my 20th birthday (July 18th, 2016,) in this two-part series, I will present to you the things that have made some sort of an impact on my life.
My Middle School Years
The finals years that I spent in grade school came with a variety of challenges in terms of my worth. Outside of school, I was a loner. All of my friends lived near the school, while I moved to a neighborhood a couple miles away. The neighborhood was quite unsafe (It is the Roseland neighborhood in Chicago for those who were wondering), and I basically stayed inside the entire time.
Bullying was a major issue that I dealt with. The constant taunting by my peers in the form of "fish lips," would lower my self esteem to the point where I looked at myself in the mirror and call myself ugly and worthless. Many more consequences occurred because of it, including my attempts at suicide and bouts of rage. Basically, since the 4th grade, my life changed an awful lot.
Perhaps, the most redeeming factor in it all was my 8th grade graduation. Because of the fact that I had nothing to do at home but watch TV, I focused on my grades and extracurriculars a lot. In the end, it payed off; I graduated as salutatorian of my 8th grade class. It was as if my torment payed off, and that life would get better from that point on.
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army came into my life around the age of 10. It was because of the development of the Ray and Joan Kroc Corp Community Center on the south side of Chicago and the help of guidance of my corp officers, that I ended up forming a relationship with a large amount of people throughout the last 10 years.
The Army was responsible for me playing the trumpet, my first instrument that I played besides a recorder. In addition to that, I was able to have my first camping experience for the next 10 years at the Salvation Army Wonderland Camp and Conference Center, in southern Wisconsin; as a camper for seven years and a counselor for three.
High School
Going into high school, my cockiness got the best of me. I figured that, since I was one of the smartest people at my school, high school should be a cakewalk. That arrogance would lead me on a downward spiral for the next four years, which was more of a wake up call.
I came to realize that there are people that can/will be better than you. For one thing, my high school focused on agricultural education; the main reason why I went was because compared to the other high schools I could've went to, it was safer to my mom. I hated the agricultural part of school, especially since it was forced down your throat all of the time, but I tried to made the best of it.
There were obviously kids who wanted to come to this school and were passionate about everything it had to offer. I personally wish it focused on the arts more, since we were only allowed one art class freshmen year, and a music class for sophomore year. In the end, while I was able to maintain honor roll and perfect attendance, I was displeased that I couldn't reach even the top 10 of my class of 200 students, even though a rank of 23 was still good. What I was to do next would lead to what I would consider, my lowest point in life so far. Stay tuned for part two...
