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Amy Monaco

Professor Kellner

English 0099 My Story

19 February 2017

My Story

From Homeschooled to College.

My parents are getting divorced after twenty years of marriage and I am starting

college, a new job and trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. If that does not

sound stressful, I do not know what does. I have never tested well in school situations so there

is that, as well. All in all, I am feeling very fragile. Like Peter J. Rondinone in Open Admissions

and the Inward I, I was completely unsure what college would be like. In his article, Open

admissions and the inward I, Rondinone was determined to succeed in college even though

he hung out with the bad kids in high school; but he is a great example to use as an inspiration

to succeed. Unlike Rondinone, I never hung out with the bad kids because I was homeschooled

and sheltered, but even with that, I suffer from anxiety when placed into new situations. Like

me, I am sure Peter J. Rondinone had anxiety about starting in a new environment as well. Life

is not always easy but you can get through it. My life is a bit of a mess, but I am going to college

in spite of the tough times. College is just something I knew one day I would do, like learning

to tie my shoes, or ride a bike. I dont know what Im going to be when I grow up, but I am

trying to figure that out.

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In elementary/middle school, I was bullied. I was bullied and the school handled it

extremely poorly. My mom followed all the procedures she was instructed to do. She went to

the teacher and asked for help. She contacted the school counselor. She also went to the

principal and filed a bullying report, (yes that is a real thing). The principal handled it wrong by

just going to the other mother and telling her all the details that were written. In hindsight, the

principal should have sat down with all four of us (me, my mom, the bully and her mom). But,

instead, the principal told the bullys mom, the mom told her daughter and her daughter was

worse than before. The mom also said I was bullying her daughter and that was an outright lie.

She claimed I hit her daughter with a jump rope. This was hilarious because her daughter tried

to hit me with a jump rope.

My dad works at the main campus at the U.C. Foundation as an accountant. My mom is

a clinical secretary at Child Focus. I work at a Mexican restaurant. I dont drive or have a car, so I

rely on the CTC (Clermont transportation connector) three or more days a week. I wake up

every day around 8:30 and the bus picks me up around 11:30, I have math class on MWF and

art class on Mondays. Im here every day, not that I wanted to be, but because scheduling was

impossible. But, thats only part of the story. I am different from Rondinone in the fact that it

was expected for me to come to college, where as he was just expected to go to work after high

school.

I did not get accepted at UC Clermont until literally the very last minute, so I ended up

having to sign up for classes on the very same day that I took my placement test, and, if that is

not stressful I dont know what is. I was extremely nervous that day; and I barely slept the night

before. Which is mostly because of my anxiety, but some nights likes to turn into insomnia
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usually before stressful or nerve inducing things. As you can imagine, I had anxiety on my first

day; I was ready early and I felt lost. After a long day of testing and orientation, the computer

for scheduling was giving me fits and anxiety. It finally worked after about 5 tries, and I was

able to get scheduled in classes.

Starting College Means Growth + Learning by Marquita Amoah is a list of tips and

tricks to get through college. Some of the tips involve class picking, like registering early, and

scheduling your time appropriately. Do not pick early morning class if you are not a morning

person. Be prepared for attending your first day of college classes. Partying is not a required

part of college, as it may affect your academic progress. Do not drink before the age of twenty-

one because it is illegal. Money management is definitely a large part of attending college

because college is an investment in your future. Learning to budget is a good idea. Always try

to keep an emergency plan for unexpected expenses.

I, like Rondinone, do not know what I want to major in. Ive always wanted to be a

marine biologist so that is what I have been leaning towards for something like fifteen years,

which is very crazy because I am only nineteen years old. I know with absolute certainty that I

want to work with animals. I learned in my student readiness class that I have a naturalistic

intelligence. This was not a surprise to me, since during my homeschooling adventures, I

tended to enjoy outdoor work and hands-on activities.

I got my first real job just a few weeks ago. I was not truly expecting to get hired

because I never have had a job. My work experience was girl scouts and babysitting over the

last several years. I noticed a flyer here at school on one of the community boards and decided
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kind of on a whim to apply. I got the job after just a fifteen minute interview on the phone, and

I am very proud of myself for getting out there and trying. So far, I love my job. It has helped to

build my confidence, and my love of Mexican food.

In Open Admissions and the Inward I Peter J Rondinone shows how college helped

him grow. When Rondinone was in high school he socialized with the wrong crowd, which led

to doing drugs and stealing. He came from a low income household. He didnt do the greatest in

school. But, he decided to take the opportunity to try college; unfortunately his friends and

family were non-supportive. He decided to isolate himself and read books to prepare. He was

placed into the basic classes, but was determined to succeed. He figured college would be

similar to high school but to his dismay it was not. He decided to change his attitude.

I was homeschooled from fifth grade to high school so I never had to do placement

testing and didnt really know what I was getting into. I know the material in my classes even

though my math teacher says things like now I know this is hard for all of you, it feels like a

blanketed statement. I dont think you are smart enough for college is what I hear. I know its

not true but its how I hear it. I know all the mathematics principles we have reviewed in class

already. I did extremely well on our first test, A+, but its hard because we dont do as well on

tests. It is difficult being put in a class too easy for you. I have different struggles but struggles

none the less. Like Rondinone I didnt do so well on placement testing. But I will prevail.

Success is always right around the corner.

When I read Transitioning from High School to College By Alexander Nazemetz I found

that it is different than my experience when it comes to the transition as I was homeschooled.
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This article focuses on the transition from high school student to college student.

Choosing where you are going to attend college is a stressful decision. The transition period to

college may be stressful too. Time management will aid you because all classes are all different

in length and difficulty. Financial responsibility is important. Paying tuition is a new experience

that you do not have in high school. In addition the social aspect is new, because you will meet

different people all of the time. According to the author Dont sweat the small stuff is a good

motto to remember in college.

My life has been stressful but I am going to try and hopefully go far in life. My parents

divorce is almost final. I am passing all my classes and that is good. I still dont know who and

what I want to be, but I still have time.

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Works Cited.

AMOAH, MARQUITA. "Starting College Means Growth Plus Learning." New York

Amsterdam News, vol. 102, no. 34, 25 Aug. 2011, p. 33. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=65354859&site=ehost-live.

NAZEMETZ, ALEXANDER. "TRANSITIONING from High School to College." Collegexpress

Magazine, Fall2015, pp. 10-11. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=110434599&site=ehost-live.

Rondinone, Peter J. Open Admissions and the Inward 'I'. Change, vol. 9, no. 5, 1977, pp.

4347., www.jstor.org/stable/40162952.