Graduation

The young woman entered the room confidently,seemingly unphased to be the only African-American woman present. She actually seemed to value that dissimilarity as an advantage. Instead of taking the seat closest to the door, Renee strolled to the front of the room and began shaking hands with the older men in the front. She flashed faint smiles of optimism, as if she were letting the men know that she was excited for their future business together. In the midst of the audience’s dialogue , her…

To the next section leader, Congratulations! If you are reading this, then you have what it takes to lead the greatest and one of the most difficult sections in the band. Being section leader is hard. It was one of the hardest and most frustrating things I have done in high school. There have been nights when I 've come home, exhausted and defeated. There have also been many days when the whole section locks in. Those are the days that will make you so proud to lead this amazing section. The…

***Beth 's POV*** After what seemed like forever Jacob finally choose a hotel to stay at. It was an okay looking hotel, it was not one of the worst ones, but it was one of the nicer ones. We make our into the hotel, to check in. Jacob and the women started talking and again, I spaced out, and thought of leaving him, when the night fell upon us. Jacob tells me that he is ready to leave to the room, I just follow him. We walk in complete silence, all the way to the room. Once and a while I look…

Introduction: “There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs.” This quote has always affected my decisions. Thesis: Every since I was a little kid, school has always been a big part of my life and I have always had big dreams. Main Point 1: My childhood was anything but boring, whether I was sliding down the stairs on a trash can lid or making my own pool in my backyard I always found a way to entertain myself. Supporting Detail: I was born at Reedley Hospital on November 22,…

She is huge and green but also beautiful and she sailed into New York Harbor on June 17, 1885. Who is she? The Statue of Liberty and at the moment that she arrived she was dismantled and needed assistance to be put together. She was a gift of friendship from France to America. The Statue of Liberty sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces which had been packed in over 200 cases. Now at this point I would have probably wanted to know two things one of them being if she came with…

As I walked into the school of DollyHigh, everyone congratulated me on becoming Valedictorian on the campus. I moved in Dolly about four years ago after my mom and dad got a divorce. Although the divorce done me and my mom bad we both knew we needed to start our own new lives. I remember walking into Dolly high for my freshman year and remembering what it feels like to be known as “The New Kid” or “Fresh Meat”. Look at me now, the Cheer captain of the squad, Valedictorian, and joining in on many…

Charles Barkley’s hands wrapped around my shoulders. My head barely went to his armpit. The 6’6”, 250 pounder, NBA legend towered over me. We were located in the hotel lobby in Birmingham, Alabama, I was there to compete in the National Speech and Debate Tournament, he was there for fun. “That’s a good skill to have,” he said. “ To be able to communicate effectively and debate.” Is it? I have come to the conclusion, as I have contemplated this one simple question the past year , that the single…

Change is something we all have to deal with at some points in our lives. College is one of those times where no matter what things change, it's inevitable. Personally, I have never coped well with change, it's something I have had to work on since a very young age. It seems to be that no matter the size of the change it still bothers me. If someone had asked me a year ago if I would be attending VCU, I would have laughed and said I am not even applying. By my first week in high school, I was…

There have been many teachers that have taught me alot, but one very noteworthy friend takes the top spot. I would like to honor Jeff Strobl as the light in the darkness from my deranged junior year of high school. He was not only a teacher, but a mentor that I could talk to about anything. He looks up to me similarly to that of a family member: like a son he never had. Even from the first day we met, he knew I had potential to do extraordinary things in life. Walking to his class the first…

The greatest deciding factor of an individual’s life is their journey through college; which can be a brutal process if not fully prepared. Whether it's someone graduating college and getting their selected degree and starting their lives soundly, or running into barriers that keep them from getting a degree and consequently ending their college career. Having first hand experience with letting barriers decide my future, I know the struggles of overcoming obstacles that seem impossible to…