The Formative Years

     High school is considered the formative years and has always been a place for people to decide what they will do after graduation and how they will get there.  Because of this, life can become difficult and strenuous during the school year with assignments, tests, and projects along with work and home life.  During my high school years, I have encountered multiple struggles, but have surpassed them to accomplish many goals allowing myself to push further academically.  My struggles however, have been minimal and have not held me back to great lengths.
     These struggles all center around getting assignments done and have inhibited my learning at points.  Being organized is very important for success, but it does not always happen.  Disorganization has caused me to have to waste my time hunting down homework, books, and study guides while I could be using the time to study or finish assignments.  Due to my occasional organizational issues, I have not been able to balance my time effectively.  Without the time I used locating work, finding time to accomplish all of the tasks becomes challenging.  Not getting homework finished is my largest struggle because it leads to lower grades and increased difficulty on tests.  As you can see, all of my struggles intertwine to make my school life a constant endeavor.  Despite all of this, I have managed to make many academic accomplishments so far.
     The accomplishments made in my high school career thus far have been relatively small, but important none the less.  My greatest achievement is being selected for Dr. Harry Kestler's Microbiology Research Group.  This was a huge honor and a success beyond belief in my mind.  Since joining, I have excelled in research and committed myself to doing more than my own part.  None of this would have been possible though without having had the high grades that are needed to be chosen.  Since my first report card, I have never gotten below a "B" in any subject.  This has been comparatively easy for me as I have not had the need to study in great detail like most students.  Because of these high grades I have kept throughout my school career, I did not allow myself to slip on any test or quiz.  For most classes while I was at Amherst Schools, tests and quizzes accounted for sixty percent of the overall grade.  Therefore, failing a tests would result in a sudden decrease in my grade that may have been impossible to fix.  Having known this, I would not allow myself to fail a test.  Failing to me is getting a "F" or "D" and I have kept myself from slipping down into that zone my entire school career.  This is one of my greatest achievements as well because keeping this perfect record is quite difficult.  I hope to continue this record into the future.
     In my future, I would like to continue what I already do now, but also reach other goals.  Continuing HIV/AIDS research through high school and even college is my biggest goal.  My life would not be complete without it.  My grades are very important to my future in college and graduate school, so I will keep them up and hold my grade point average above a 2.5. Going to college is my superior aspiration and partially depends on my passing of the Ohio Graduation Test.  I have no doubts in my mind that I will not only pass my OGT, but excel and score advanced in all subjects.
     Although the struggles shape whoa  person is the most, I believe that the accomplishments do so as well.  My high school experience has been full of goals, success, and even some failures.  The difference between myself and let us say, a drop out, is that I continued to flourish at school despite them.

The Darkest Hour (Bullying and Its Effects)

     Bullying is just a part of life. It is unavoidable throughout school and even more in high school. This has been stated before and ideas very similar to these have even been published by a man named Tim Gill in his book, “No Fear; Growing Up in a Risk Averse Society.” He goes on to state that society has exaggerated what bullying really is and has even gone as far as to say that “playground spats” are being regarded as something overly serious. This man, after publishing his book and receiving multiple letters of hate, stated that he did not believe that bullying was a part of life. The people who sent him these letters are a perfect example of what Mr. Gill said did not exist. Bullying does exist and is the both the cause and effect of many of life’s great tragedies.

    Why do people bully? The most simplistic reason is that the bully craves power over another individual or group to make up for some kind of defect whether it is emotional or physical. These bullies are often hard to get rid of as they feel the need to prove that the defect does not make them weak. Thus, standing up is very difficult as is best done in a group. Bullies are often weakened when they are stood up against by multiple people. This is fantastic, but it rarely happens. People are slow to stand up and defend each other; it is just easier to walk by and ignore the problem. Another reason that this happens is that people are scared of being knocked down or bullied as well. The internet tends to give people a sense of fake confidence that allows them to stand up for each other without fear. It is so much more likely that one would stand up for another when they are not face to face with the problem.

   

     The most terrible tragedy seen as a result of repeated bullying is depression and then possibly even suicide. According to the CDC, an average of 4,400 young people take their own life every year with more than half being a direct result of bullying. To me, that is shocking, but at the same time, I understand it. These are not just numbers as they represent the lives of young people across the country. People, who will never graduate, never get married, never have a career. These people have ceased to exist physically and the changes, lives they would have affected, and goals they would have reached have ceased to exist as well. A whole life ended because of the decisions of a small group. These lives cannot be replaced and what has been done cannot be undone. Everything, no matter how small, comes with a price.