Waking Up In High School: A Short Story

Going to high school was never a great experience for me. The thought of waking up in the morning and going to six classes, everyday, for five days straight was overwhelming. Ever since I entered high school freshman year, I always had that voice in the back of my head saying, “Why come today, school is boring and useless.” Today was like any other day in my junior year and like always I was in a grumpy mood. I remember it being a Tuesday morning and having zero motivation to enter the class and “learn” something. People around me would always say how happy they were to be in school and ask me if I loved it to, and of course I would say yes in order to avoid an unpleasant explanation. In reality, I hated school and all day, everyday, I would

Mason! Once I heard that, I thought to myself, saying things like, “please are you really sure about that?” or “you are not the only person to say that and you won 't be the last.” AP US History was one of many of my AP classes, and although the amount of work was taunting, I knew I was going to love this class. Everyday, Mr. Mason would stand outside the door and greet everyone with such a heartwarming grin and firm handshake. He loved to ask how your day was going and if it was not great he would find a way to make you feel better. I had never seen any other teacher wait and greet their students at the door, let alone try and help them with a problem they had. One Tuesday morning as I was walking into the classroom, I was looking more grumpy and unmotivated than usual. Mr. Mason noticed and without hesitation, asked me to see him after class. I thought to myself, “Oh no, did I do something wrong, I hope I do not get in some sort of trouble!” After class ended, I stayed in order to hear what I had done wrong, but it was about something completely unexpected. The conversation started when he asked,” Karen why are you so unhappy all the time? Is school really that bad for you or is it something deeper than that?” I thought to myself why he would ask me such a question and why did he even care? I looked at him and honestly responded, “To be honest I

Mason and I am sure glad he kept his promise. I owe it all to him for excelling in high school and being the top 20 in my graduating class. It was because of his constant sit downs with me after school, sometimes before school that helped me pursue education in an enthusiastic manner. Now that I look back, I see how I was wasting my education away, I might have attended and done my schoolwork, but he taught me that I could do so much more and actually help others and pass on his methods and enthusiastic ideals. According to the online article Understanding Students’ Strengths and Struggles, by Donna Marie San Antonio, Antonio states, “Low-income students in particular benefit from having a meaningful relationship with at least one school staff member who knows their interests, skills, and struggles.” This quote is especially true and in my case adequate because it was due to the positive relationship I had with Mr.Mason and his uplifting advice that helped and continues helping me