Before I started High school i went to School in Jamaica and had the chance to experience an American Junior High School. In grade school I had fun, running around barefooted, climbing trees, doing all sort of crazy stuff right before class. In the Jamaican Version of JHS I had fun. I feel that schoolback home was more fun for me because I had more freedom. When I look look out of a window in school now I see buildings, back home when I looked out of a window I saw trees and green grass, and in the distance I saw the mountains with their peaks in the clouds, it was beautiful back home. When I came to America I was 11 I was supposed to start high school but they told me I was too young and put me in 7th grade. I find it funny that 7th grade up here is junior high school but back home 7th grade is the begining of high school.

When I was in 8th grade I started worrying, I had made some really good friends and the thought of going to high school without them was a bit scary for me. My older sister and cousins tried to take some of the pressure off by telling me to apply for the schools they attended, I decided that that was not an option. I applied to schools that were far from home, I wanted a change. I chose to go to Samuel L. Gompers high school. The first time I walked into Gompers I was scared I told my mom that I had changed my mind and that I wanted to go to school with my big sister, well I had another surprise coming. When we went in to talk to the principal in charge of new admits she told us that school policy stated that once you got accepted to the school you had to spend 6 months before you could transfer and for the first of three times that school made me cry, but I had no other choice.

The first day I went to Gompers by myself was a disaster. It was dress to impress day and I wore a pink suit that my mother had made for me to wear to my brother's wedding. When I got off the bus I was totally mortified I saw everyone else in their nice skirt suits and I looked at myself in what I thought was my ugly pink suit and I turned around and went back home, I told my mom that I had gotten to school late and they wouldn't let me in, I took off the pink suit and went to bed I didn't go back to the school for the next two days. From there on out school was ok it turned out that a couple of my friends were also attending that school and so I wasn't alone. Freshman year passed really fast and by the June of 97 I was loving the school and looking forward for September when I would be a sophmore, if I had known what was coming I would have been more prepared.

In the summer of 1997 I was forced to move to Connecticut and start a whole new high school I was so upset. I loved N.Y. and C.T. was no match for N.Y. The first week I lived there was horrible, with no school and no friends my sisters and I were forced to do the most unthinkable act, we had to be each others friends. When school started it got worse C.T. life was boring and after 5 months my mother decided that she could not take it anymore, we packed up our stuff and moved back to New York and there the Jamaica high school saga began.

I entered Jamaica high school in the third or fourth month of my sophmore career. I am now in my senior year and I can honestly say that i've had a lot of fun here. I remember the first day I walked into this school I hated it from the start. I hated the fact that I had to go to school with my sister I mean after all that was what I was running from when I applied to Gompers, I made up my mind that I would not be spending more than 4 months in this school. The first teacher I met and liked was Mr. Heiss. I had his class and I remember that I was convinced that he could not be as good as my old teacher from the Bronx, but Mr. Heiss did something that the other teachers I had met so far didn't do, he stopped and asked me where I was coming from and I went into this whole thing about how I wasn't going to be in this school for long and in two months I was going back to my old schooland he just said try it here and who knows maybe you'll like it. That was two and a half years ago and I am still here . I want to say thank you Mr. Heiss for telling me to try it and also for remembering me even after I left your class I appreciate it.

As far as friends go i've made a few good ones and I would just like to take the time to say thank you to all of them,so here we go.

1. Vijai: My favorite person. I met him in 10th grade and I just knew that we were gonna be friends. I love my Vijai and i'm gonna miss him very much. Bye Jai.

2. LaMesha: See I spelled your name correctly. I know you didn't like me at first but I also know that you love me now and you know what I love you too. You definetly made my high schoool life much better and i'm happy I met you.

3. Shakyra: Girl i'm not even gonna say nothing to you. Sitting in the front of the class acting like you didn't want to talk to people well you know what now you are stuck with me and I ain't going nowhere.

4.NU-NU: You stupid girl. I don't know how I met you but I guess that's not important, we're friends now and we'll be friends for a long time. Oh and can I borrow a bandoolu. Ha Ha

5.Paula: You know I have nothing to say to you. You are honestly my best friend here and you will be my best friend 4-ever, well apart from Dwaine you know. See you around.

6. Lisa: Lisa I don't know man, you are sick and that's ok. You know what i'm gonna come look for you someday ok.

To all the teachers here Mrs. Mayo Mr. Pallisco, Mr. Oge, Ms. Sutera Mr.Heiss, Ms.James and all the others who made school fun THANK YOU. To all the teachers who made it somewhat of a hassle it's been fun.