Personal Narrative: My Community Flaws

Shaped by the Flaws of My Community

Have you ever just been going about your day and find yourself in a specific place that at an earlier time in your life was so much more relevant than it is presently. A place that you just cannot help passing without having a sudden feeling of nostalgia, a memory from an earlier time in your life. This tends to happen to me on a frequent basis. I think the reason for this is that I have lived in the same community of Perry Hall and only moved once in my life. I still reside only a few miles from the hospital where I made my entrance in this world 18 years ago. Living in Perry Hall all my life has really shaped me to be who I am today. Perry Hall is a heavily populated, demographically diverse, middle class suburb in northern Baltimore County. I attended Perry Hall Middle School and

All my friends from previous years had parted ways, and we were all thrown into this giant fishbowl just trying to survive. There was a lost feeling that came with this new school. I started to withdraw, and everything began to suffer as a result. My personal and social life became non-existent and my grades tanked to an all-time low. Terje Murberg, in her article, “The Role of Personal Attributes and Social Support Factors on Passive Behavior in Classroom Among Secondary School Students: A Prospective Study” states “For those who display an inhibited and/or passive behavior, it can be difficult to attain full potential academic achievement and to make use of social opportunities that are available” (Murberg 1). Not only was I feeling not included and left out because I didn’t seem to share the same interests as the other students. The style of instruction in the classroom was not conducive to learning. I needed more than to be handed a textbook and ditto and instructed to fill it out and turn it in when complete. I needed an interactive learning environment with class discussions and