Literacy Narrative (Reality Check)
Sixth grade through my sophomore year I took school as a joke. I didn’t care what I got on a test or if there was homework due. I would take zero’s rather than just presenting in front of my class, just because I hated public speaking. I would barely slide by passing with between a D+ and a C. I was able to get away with this because my parents would punish me for bad grades, but again I didn’t care what they said or what my teachers would tell me. My views of school were shortly changed at the end of my sophomore year.
My mom was more strict about school than my dad. My dad does have a greater education than my mom and he would punish us for bad grades, but it just wasn’t the same as when my mom would lose it on either me or my younger brother, who is a junior at Kearsarge High School. Freshmen and sophomore year I couldn’t care less about how mad my parents got whenever I got a bad grade on something. They would take my car, take my phone, and not let me hangout with my friends on the weekend. At the end of my sophomore year, my mom and I got into a fight about me not studying for my finals. I left the house because I was pissed off at her. I called her to tell her where I was and we talked about school and how I should be asking for help. The way she was speaking, calm and almost pleading, made it clear that I should really listen to her. She spoke to me about college and was asking me if I wanted to work at Bubbas the rest of my life. Bubbas is a restaurant in Newbury, NH. The restaurant is across the street on the harbor on Lake Sunapee.
It’s a small place with a decent amount of seating, a bar, and an open kitchen. I was underpaid and I was given the worst tasks while I worked in the dishroom. After about a month I was moved to manage the brick oven, it could fit about five pizzas at a time. The managers were rude and did not care if you needed a day off or if you were busy with your own thing. They expected you to drop everything you’re doing and do the task they are giving you. My last week of summer going into my senior year, all the kids older than me had left for college, so I had to pick up the slack. They had me work a fifty six hour week. I hated it there so now my interest was caught.
My mom did not attend college. She is a hairdresser in the town next to the one we live in. So, instead of college she went to beauty school. My mom had a rougher life after high school, at least she tells me, because she didn’t go to college. She always talks about not making enough money and how she has always struggled with making payments. She always says she wants the best for my brother and I because we have opportunities that she did not have when she was our ages. She told me that I should figure out what I love and really think about it. She loved the idea. I told her how passionate I was about this and how it was what I really wanted to do. It didn’t take long for me to think of something, sports. When I took up basketball I got really into it, playing all the time. I knew I wanted to be around sports when I was done with my education. I have suffered from patellar tendonitis for years and my trainer always helped my before and after practice. I was intrigued with how she new how to treat my injuries and other athlete’s injuries as well. I thought and did research on schools, majors, and classes I should take through my last two years of high school. I found the athletic training major on Plymouth State’s website and brought it to my mom. We talked about if I knew that’s what I really wanted to do and without hesitation I said yes.
Picture Credit: https://parbsanonymous.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/reality-check-sign.png
