Narritive

Derek Mavis

September 8, 2013

Mr. Dilbeck

English 1100

Senior Year

            My senior year was the most I had learned out of all my four years in high school, but it didn’t come easy. The first few months were football season for me. I lived for football during the season. It consumed my thoughts twenty-four-seven and did not allow me to concentrate on my classes. You could tell by my grades that I was falling apart academically and something needed to change. Months had passed with the same thing going on but I thought everything was going to be fine because of my occasional high scores on quizzes or tests, but it wasn’t. If I didn’t get my grades up, I would not graduate with the rest of my class.

            It is very uncommon for someone to join the football team their senior year and had not been on the team the previous three years. This is what I had done my senior year and it was very difficult. In the off season I trained as hard as I possibly could in the weight room and on the field. I had to make up for the missing three years of practice that most of the other players already had. The situation I was in motivated me to work harder and become a better player. My hard work got me to become a starting receiver for the offence of my team. Eventually I even became a free safety for the defense. My football season was a clear example of dedication and hard work. So why can’t I apply these skills to my education?

            The truth was that I could apply what football taught me to my academics. The difference was that I had to find the motivation. Reality of not graduating was creeping up on me when I got my interim. This reality check was all the motivation I needed to start doing my best. I started to pay attention in class, do homework, and most importantly learn. For the first time I got a B on one of my pre-calc  tests instead of C’s and D’s. I was on the course to graduating now and some of the pressure was relieved.

            There was only one class I had to worry about now, English. I had not been a very strong writer for obvious reasons, not doing assignments, not revising some of the few papers I actually wrote. There was one week until graduation and it all came down to the last writing assignment. The project was worth two hundred points so I had to do well on it. I sat at my desk in my room just staring at the blank piece of paper. Nothing came to mind when I would try to write. Panic set in and I was beginning to doubt myself. I had to clear my mind so I decided to go for a run. When I got back I just started to write, and write, for hours I just sat there on my last Saturday of my senior year and wrote the essay. My teacher could tell I put everything I had into the essay so he gave me a passing grade.

            My senior year was definitely the best learning experience for me during high school. It taught me that motivation can be one of the best tools for learning. Also if you want to get something done right you have to give it everything you have and don’t quit when things get tough. I used these skills and it lead me to graduating on time with the rest of my class. I couldn’t have done it without using what football had taught me and applying myself with the skills I learned.