New School Argumentative

September 18, 2013

I recall the nerves, sweat, and some tears of my first day of public school in an unfamiliar environment. I was vulnerable and invisible to all the chaos occurring in my peripheral vision. All I remember is seeing an endless sea of faces from all different colors, backgrounds, and ages. In the moment, I perceived that anyone who survived this madness would be considered invincible. This experience was astounding and life-changing because I learned how to interact with countless of different individuals, manage my time much more wisely, and how to overcome peer pressure. As I entered the school with my cousin on a dark and gloomy Monday morning, my nerves kicked in. I could not yet sink in the idea that I was in public school. Dressed to impress in a classy black Armani Exchange shirt and blue Calvin Klein jeans, I was ready to conquer anything that the day was going to throw at me. When the bell went off at seven thirty everything changed! Chaos emerged, and everybody began yelling and running trying to get to class. Not knowing anyone besides my clueless cousin, began scrambling for direction before that obnoxious bell rang.

Further along in the day, I met my first friend. Joshua had dark black curly hair, which was neatly slicked back to perfection along with a pearl white long sleeve dress shirt with black dress pants. Not only was it my first day but his as well. My nerves finally started to settle down! It was such a relief to be able to meet someone out of the thousands of bodies that this school produced. As class began, having met one friend to boost my confidence I began talking to other people. I realized that public school had a ton of personalities! Just when I thought everything was calm and comfortable, the bell rang for lunch. I did not know what to expect, and   even where the lunch room was located. Once again people began scrambling, and into the lunch room they went. It was an entirely new world in the cafeteria! Loud, obnoxious, chaotic, and a mile long line were some words to describe the cafeteria. I experienced Déjà vu all over again. Feeling lonely and clueless, I did not know anybody in the room and felt hopeless. I sat down in one of the tables all the way in the back of the cafeteria all by myself. I did not bother meeting people because it seemed like everyone knew each other and had there clicks. Five minutes before the bell rang, I started to walk around the school trying to get familiar with it. I remembered running into some kids who were smoking pot.

They asked me, “Do you want to hit it?” I told them “sorry but I do not smoke” and walked off. I realized that I was no longer in private school, but that I had entered a new world. When the bell rang I encountered Josh and told him that we had kids on drugs in this school. He said, “Welcome to Hollywood Florida where smoking pot is considered a delicacy.” I could not stand the smell of it, it was this unique distinct smell which is really recognizable. I realized that I had to remain strong and not be influenced by the environment around me. The end of the day was approaching, all I had left was physical education. My teacher, Coach Meyers, was a skinny man with short blonde hair, and had his gym shorts pulled up high on his waist wearing his socks up to his knees. I remembered telling myself “This guy is my P.E. teacher”?

“He will definitely not gain the respect of all my classmates looking like a nerd”. Sure enough as soon as my classmates and I entered the gym, they began screaming and a fight began. I was sitting down in the bleachers counting down the seconds and praying for the bell to ring. When that bell rang, I quickly escaped the mad house and ran towards the bus. I felt that I had conquered my first day of public school! I have experienced a life changing moment in all of this because it tested my character and who I was. Relationships are important in life, public school gave me the opportunity to interact with the different individuals and establish key relationships with some of them. I have also gained knowledge and use my time much more wisely now. It taught me time management because I was on my own, and had to do everything on my own. Countless of individuals are in school, some that are a positive influence, and some that are a negative influence. I was impacted positively in all of this, because I overcame a major issue in peer pressure. Learn from my story and you too can conquer negative influences!