Johnnay Bradford, 17,
Abraham Lincoln High School, Philadelphia, PA

All my life, I’ve been told to be like my sister, and to follow in her footsteps. But as time went on I realized I couldn’t. From early as five, I knew that to be like my sister I would have to try harder, and that’s what I did. Whenever my father came over, he helped my ten-year old brother with anything he was having a difficult time with in school, and whenever they went over work, I watched. I paid close attention to whatever they were doing. And when I finally felt capable of learning it, I joined in. At only five I learned to spell, read, write, add, subtract, use fractions, and how to navigate encyclopedias and dictionaries. I felt so accomplished. But my dad thought I still had a lot of work to do. For my first two years in elementary school all I worked on was becoming the best.

Finally, in first grade, my teacher asked me a series of questions. I could tell by her face she was impressed by my answers. Within the next couple of months, I was tested and enrolled into the mentally gifted program. I thought my work was done. But little did I know it had just begun. As a gifted student, I thought I was smarter than everyone, and being as though I was ahead of others, I thought I could do what I wanted. I slacked in class, I gave the teacher attitude, and I made sure that students knew that I was superior.

Before I knew it, I was getting bad grades, getting into all kinds of drama, talking back, and acting like a different person. By the time I was in middle school, I was sure that I couldn’t go back to being good. I just couldn’t, I had already set myself up for failure. Because of my bad record, I was denied at every high school I applied for, and landed myself in summer school for the first time, and then in Lincoln High. At Lincoln, I cut class, hooked school, and basically became the person I never wanted to be.

A year went by and I spent my second year in summer school, and that’s when I realized that I was failing myself.  All through summer school I thought, “This is not how I imagined spending my high school life.” I needed to get on the ball, and I needed to do it fast! I worked hard in summer school and even harder my sophomore year. I went from a C/D student to getting A’s and B’s. I felt great, and the weird part was the better my grades got, the more of a pleasant person I became. I changed myself, just when I thought I couldn’t. But I couldn’t do that without embracing my mistakes. I had to admit to myself that for all these years I was wrong, and I’m happy I did because it made me into the person I am today.

Grissel Castellanos, 18
Central Union High School, El Centro, CA
           
A new path that I discovered by mistake, but has been clear for millions of decades in the world as well as in the Bible, was that without God nothing is possible.  It all started when I wanted to stop being myself and tried to fit in with so called “friends.”  I realized that my relationship with my parents and God was not as close as it was before.  Even if I had my friends, I felt that I was alone; I had my family, but I didn’t feel love within me.  I felt as if I needed a love and peace that no one was able to give me. Not even by going out with friends to the beach and relaxing, going to the mall and buying thousands of outfits—it just wasn’t that kind of love and peace that I needed.  I knew that I couldn’t take it anymore; I felt as if I were an orphan, unwanted and left out.  So I took a risk and attempted to commit suicide a day before my mom’s birthday. In the hospital, my mom and dad talked to me and prayed for me.  I felt that I was loved and that I was cared for.  Tears were the only thing that dripped down my face and I realized that I was made for a purpose.  God had a reason why he kept the beat of my heart going; he still wanted me to stay here, in this world because I’m needed here.  My dad told me that, “Life is like a school because you learn from each mistake that you make.”  Making this mistake showed me that not only did I change, but the things that surrounded me did too.  Schools should not only teach about math, English, or that we are made from monkeys or apes.  Students should be taught the reason why we are made, why we are living in a world that not even scientists know the answers to many questions, and why we should know that making a mistake may have consequences.  Some may be good or some may be bad.  I have embraced my mistakes to my way of living because I know that each and every day I will overcome either big or small obstacles.