Making School #1
How I Put My Education First

Photo Illustration by Nia Milner and Reuben Buchanan| VOX Staff

By Fenell Wilkins| VOX Staff

Whenever I watch television, I start to daydream about my future. Will I be as successful as those celebrities I see on TV?

I always say that I will do so much in life and won’t have to depend on anybody or anything. I always told my family that I will support them after I make it to the top, telling them that I will buy them houses, cars and clothes. I feel proud and excited, imagining myself hurrying out of college, traveling the world, going to West Africa and building schools for the children, becoming an overseas basketball player and top journalist (bigger than Oprah) and making millions. Oprah is a role model who almost everyone admires because she is so powerful and loves to explore different things. The only way I could top her is if I work even harder and start now, rather than later. But I really want to chill out and do my own thing without always having my face in a book.

Every time I bring up my grand plans to my mother, all she says is, “Take school seriously.” “Don’t play around with school.” “You need to stop playing around and study more.” As much as I love my family, I hate when my relatives get on my case. When I hear the remarks about playing around, all I do is hold my anger and move on. Honestly, I made a lot of mistakes fooling around before I decided to take the hard way and use my abilities to make the best out of my school work.

Old Ways
On my last day at my old school, all I could think of was I will walk across the stage to get my diploma, so I have to take my junior year very seriously. I struggled trying to juggle academics and athletics. When I had time to focus on my school work, I would always wait until the day it was due.

For example, when my mother picked me up from basketball practice the only thing on my mind was that I needed to try to hit my math up ‘cause that is my enemy, and I wanted to get a better grade in that class. I would get in front of the computer, get on a math Web site and try to learn new math skills, but then five minutes later I would browse Myspace to see who left me some comments or who’s online. I would be on Myspace for at least two hours straight and forget that I had home work due. The next day I would realize that I did not even take time to look at my math.

Inspiration
I have to admit, what really drew me to take school as serious as possible was the movie “Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will and Jaden Smith. In the movie, Will Smith played Christopher Gardiner who has to hustle to make it in stock marketing and care for his son. While Gardiner was busy trying to pursue happiness, his wife went her own way, and Gardiner had to deal with living in and out of motels, a homeless shelter and even a subway restroom. At the end of the day Gardiner’s hustle paid off, and he became one of the top stock marketing executives in the country. While I was watching the movie I started crying and didn’t stop until I left the theater.

The movie taught me a valuable lesson that independence pays off as long you fight to get to the top. I would rather have an early start with my career by studying and going to class. Since I wasn’t happy at my old school I always had doubts about if I would still be living in my mother’s house after graduation or would I be making my own money and not have to depend on anybody.

Last Straw
I had been struggling in school. I would always ask for help from the teacher, and she would either forget to help me or would browse the internet while she was teaching class. I felt like I was just there to say I go to school, but I was not getting anything out of it.

Things really changed when the tutor who I was going to after school gave me a standardized test to see if I learned anything since I started the tutoring. My mother got my scores back before me and once she mentioned the test and my average I broke down in tears and wanted to do better.

I was very determined to improve my GPA and get ahead so I could prepare for college. I was so determined to get a fresh start with my education and with peers. Sometimes my peers would play around and not take me seriously. Even though they would joke about my plans, there was always a point when they went too far. Because of all of that, I felt a move would be a whole lot easier for me.

Networking
So I did a lot of networking by asking peers who were getting ready to graduate and move on with their lives if they knew any schools that I could enroll myself in and get some more time and support. I heard about Open Campus from a friend who was struggling in a few classes and had to transfer to get ahead. Open Campus is a DeKalb County school that helps young adults who want to graduate early or catch up with a few classes. It’s also for people who want a second chance when they didn’t take their first chance seriously.

Really, I learned that if the school you’re in is not doing you any good it’s best to transfer, but before you transfer to another school, you have to get the information that you need in order to be accepted and do it as quick as you can. I told my mother that I plan to graduate early and that I also want to have more time to myself to prepare for college. She wasn’t happy with my old school either and felt that going to another school would be a good solution. So she approved and got more information for me to transfer.

New Start
Since I transferred to Open Campus this fall, I am getting more exposure to people from all over the world. And my new peers are very supportive, help me when I need it and are fun to be around. Ever since I made this new start with my education I feel like a new and improved person. Plus I get to graduate a few months earlier than my original class. I will be finished with high school in October 2008 instead of waiting until May 2009. Since I am there to graduate early, I am taking all subject classes each semester. I am getting ahead in the classroom, especially with my math, and I am not browsing the Web once I come home from school.

I recently visited my old school, Cedar Grove High, and met up with some of my friends, who were happy to see me. I have to admit the school seems better now that they have a new principal. And everyone was bragging about how everything changed since I was there. My friends were asking why I left the Grove. My response was to knock my classes out of the way so I could have time to do things that are fun. To be honest, I am happier to be at a place where I can get ahead instead of being at a regular high school. But I also miss my friends from the bottom of my heart and I will be back with them on graduation day. (I can still get my diploma from Cedar Grove even though I’m finishing school at Open Campus.)

I learned not to waste time with education. I am not the kind of person who lets things go to waste. If I want something, I will fight to get it. Education has motivated me to be a better person. It’s helping me open my eyes more into the real world, and that it is not easy. But my family taught me without education nothing is possible. I know they will be the loudest ones cheering for me on graduation day.

Fenell is an aspiring activist and junior at Open Campus High. She wants to play sports as long as she can.