Regret. The word makes some people cringe. Reflecting back on my high school years, I would say that I do regret a lot of the decisions I have made. But now I’ve learned that the only thing stopping me from succeeding is myself.
During my first two years of high school I definitely didn’t have the same mentality of everyone else. I came into high school with a carefree attitude. “Freshman year doesn’t matter” they would tell me. Young and naive, it was my mindset that how I did in school didn’t determine my future. A year later, my mindset became my permanent attitude. I knew that I wasn’t living up to my potential, but I couldn’t seem to change the way I thought about school. Even my friends were telling me to start being serious, but I thought …show more content…
Living in this town, getting this quality education, having the opportunities I have were always taken for granted. I would go on vacation to my beach house, visit my family in Europe, ask my parents to throw money at me to spend with my friends. I never understood what hard work entailed.
Second semester, everything started to go downhill; a breakup, my best friend hospitalized for three months, and another friend who turned on me for no reason left me reeling. I spent weeks in my bedroom crying, thinking only of myself and how horrible my life was. My grades dropped and I started to realize that feeling sorry for myself had gotten me into an even bigger hole. Finally I had a wakeup call. Francesca - was the wake up call your grades dropping or your experience with Albert & Gina? If the wake up call were your grades dropping, then move the sentence to after ‘how horrible my life …show more content…
Seeing how spending just a few hours with these lonely people had made them so grateful, I began to go more often. I met this couple who lived in the center, Albert and Gina. Gina had Alzheimer 's disease. She always forgot my name and I thought about how hard it must be for Albert to live with someone who doesn’t always recognize him. One day, I asked Albert about it while playing cards. His answer broke my heart when he said that despite her condition, she made him happier than anybody ever has and waking up in her presence every morning was the only thing he wanted in this world. After the experience with Albert, I knew I was on my way to recovering from my depression. - I suggest changing this sentence to something like: Albert’s positive attitude, even in loss, was infectious.
The next week I went to France, visiting my family whom I had not seen for two years. The second I got to my grandmothers house, I really understood just how much I was taking my life for granted.Seeing the way she lived in her small house, growing every fruit known to man in her backyard, and the way she smiled in our presence made me happier than I had been in a long time. Looking at how little she had, but knowing how happy she was, made me appreciate my life
During my first two years of high school I definitely didn’t have the same mentality of everyone else. I came into high school with a carefree attitude. “Freshman year doesn’t matter” they would tell me. Young and naive, it was my mindset that how I did in school didn’t determine my future. A year later, my mindset became my permanent attitude. I knew that I wasn’t living up to my potential, but I couldn’t seem to change the way I thought about school. Even my friends were telling me to start being serious, but I thought …show more content…
Living in this town, getting this quality education, having the opportunities I have were always taken for granted. I would go on vacation to my beach house, visit my family in Europe, ask my parents to throw money at me to spend with my friends. I never understood what hard work entailed.
Second semester, everything started to go downhill; a breakup, my best friend hospitalized for three months, and another friend who turned on me for no reason left me reeling. I spent weeks in my bedroom crying, thinking only of myself and how horrible my life was. My grades dropped and I started to realize that feeling sorry for myself had gotten me into an even bigger hole. Finally I had a wakeup call. Francesca - was the wake up call your grades dropping or your experience with Albert & Gina? If the wake up call were your grades dropping, then move the sentence to after ‘how horrible my life …show more content…
Seeing how spending just a few hours with these lonely people had made them so grateful, I began to go more often. I met this couple who lived in the center, Albert and Gina. Gina had Alzheimer 's disease. She always forgot my name and I thought about how hard it must be for Albert to live with someone who doesn’t always recognize him. One day, I asked Albert about it while playing cards. His answer broke my heart when he said that despite her condition, she made him happier than anybody ever has and waking up in her presence every morning was the only thing he wanted in this world. After the experience with Albert, I knew I was on my way to recovering from my depression. - I suggest changing this sentence to something like: Albert’s positive attitude, even in loss, was infectious.
The next week I went to France, visiting my family whom I had not seen for two years. The second I got to my grandmothers house, I really understood just how much I was taking my life for granted.Seeing the way she lived in her small house, growing every fruit known to man in her backyard, and the way she smiled in our presence made me happier than I had been in a long time. Looking at how little she had, but knowing how happy she was, made me appreciate my life