Alexander Messam
“You can’t stay in my house with grades like that, it just not going to work” said my mother. Throughout most of my high school year I use to cut class all the time. If I want to play basketball I would cut, if my friends got out early and wanted to go to the mall I would just cut, to “chill” and do absolutely nothing. It was kind of fun while it lasted, but soon enough I found out It would just make my life a little harder than usual.
When I saw my first high school report card it was not that bad. I had about two seventies and the rest was eighty-fives. After a couple of months of making new friends and slacking on my school work my grades started to drop rapidly. The next report was straight sixty fives and below on the paper. I was too ashamed my parents, so ripping it up way the only thing that came to mind, thinking that they wouldn’t find out. Within the three months of freshman year I already had teachers calling my house. Next thing I know everything was gone, my PlayStation and all my Jordans. This just made me upset and more rebellious.
Now entering my sophomore year with this same attitude towards school, I wanted to try out for my basketball team. In October when try-outs came I tried out. The coach pulled me to the side and said “you were outstanding, where did you learn to play like that?”, then asked me if my grade were good. My little smile quickly turned upside down. “Damn I sorry I can’t have you on the team if you do not have a seventy or above” he said. It tore my heart in half, basketball was everything to me. My basketball dreams have been crushed by my grades. Crying was the only thing I felt like doing at the time. This was the turning point in my high school career.
Hearing the bad news from the basketball coach changed my way of thinking about school. I go to school early so I don’t have to worry about go late, I do my classwork and homework, and pay attention to my teachers. I spoke to my brother and mentor about college, and they said that I would have to go to community college in order to go to my college of choice, which would be John Jay. I didn’t know cutting class was that serious. It could really mess up your future, I was young and irresponsible. I thought life was a video game and you can just press reset until you find out it’s just too late. Now entering my senior year, finding out that an education is important I plan to begin the year strong and end the year even stronger.
Skipping out on class and hang out with friends did not benefit me in any way shape or form. It did not help me make money nor make me better in basketball. Leaving the cutting lifestyle was the greatest choice of my life and do not plan on going back. It made my career goal of being a forensic scientist or police officer that much harder, but I learned from my terrible mistakes and I am doing what I have to do to become a successful.
