Personal Narrative: High Middle Class In High School

Despite the fact I have grown up in a small town that is basically only known by residents of surrounding areas, it may not seem like the competition I have faced was big enough to have an equally sized effect on me. But it was. I have grown up in the small town of Bellaire, Texas. Bellaire is not too small to be unnoticed, but not too large to be known by everyone or immediately identifiable on a map. Unlike most residents of Bellaire who are doctors, lawyers, or hold other occupations of high income, my family is what would be considered low middle class. Our one story rented house is one of few on a street where every other house is a monstrosity that is owned by someone who does not have to watch every expense like my family does. Why
would my parents have chosen to live in such a lifestyle? Why would they choose to pay a higher rent for a house that is only priced by its location? Why would my parents want to become a singled out minority in a Caucasian dominated city? There are two answers to these questions: one, for the simple reason of helping my mother’s commute to work, as she was employed by the city; and, most importantly, to allow their children to grow up in a safe and protected neighborhood where they could succeed and one day financially fit in a residency like Bellaire. The public and elementary schools I attended were exemplary and highly reputable - this was because the students that went to these schools were also residents of Bellaire, who came from well income and educated families and had parents who also strived to provide a better education for their children. When I was in first grade, my teacher recommended that I apply for a program for students who were academically gifted. She saw potential in me and believed that even though my exam scores did not say I was qualified, my work ethic said otherwise. I was accepted in the gifted and talented academic program. Throughout elementary school I competed with the students in my class, because even though I was accepted into the program, I was just shy of missing it- my exams showed I barely had enough qualification and it was the teacher recommendation that solidified my acceptance. This became evident when things seemed to come easier to my classmates and I struggled to keep up- but it did not stop me from pushing myself to reach and stay at the same level as my peers.
My freshman class in high school consisted of nearly one-thousand students.
I was no longer with neighboring students I had competed against in smaller elementary and middle schools- I was now against top students who had applied from other districts and neighborhoods. I was attending one of the largest schools in the district, and now the number of competition I had doubled from the amount it had been in previous years. It became even harder for me to keep up with my classmates; both those I had always been against, and the new faces of whom had equal if not greater academic talent. In my first two years of high school it was even harder for me to keep up with my peers. I had many sleepless nights, putting in double the amount of work of other students who had a better understanding of the material than I did. I became frustrated because I didn’t think it was fair- I didn’t understand why it was so hard for me. There were nights I wanted to abandon it all; I wanted to give up the rigorous curriculum because I believed I had no chance against students who had no problems. It was hard enough to succeed in my past with a smaller class, why should I try in an even larger group? Why should I suffer to barely keep up when I could be normal in a less demanding atmosphere? If I had listened to myself when I had these thoughts, I would not have eventually become able to take college-leveled classes. I would not be in the top eleven percent of my graduating class. I would not know that despite the nights of tears and stress, I would be thankful for the competition because it encouraged me to push harder. It triggered the part of me that had always wanted to succeed and the part of me that wanted to overcome the differences. What my first grade teacher saw in me might have been subtle and not justified by exam scores, but it was early signs of the determination that would not have become more evident without being challenged to work harder. The circumstances I faced growing
up in a community where the odds were not in my favor, and where I did not have the luxury of coming from a well-educated background, forced me to prove that I did have the potential. And, at some times when I could not be at the same level as the others, I learned that I had to accept it- I could not always be perfect, but the experiences that helped me realize this also helped me to show I could be just as competitive as my peers.