Harold Fraser
Ms. Wu
E7TP
 
The neighborhood that I live in is very boring. I have been living here for six years. The only reason I moved here was because of the divorce of my mother and father. Jamaica, Queens is where I live now. I moved here in 1996. That's the exact time that I started to attend another school. In my old school I was an AA@ student. I lived in the neighborhood that I had lived in all my life. I had my friends around me and a happy household, probably not happy by societies standards, but happy to me. My academic life was excellent. Then I had to move. Not only from home but also from school. The school that I began to attend was good but the people that I started to make friends with were not. I don't know if it's that fact or the fact that there were problems at home but my grades started to slip. I couldn't pay attention in class because there was always some joke or story being told and like a fool I always listened. As a result of that I didn't know what was going on in class and couldn't do my homework. Luckily there was someone that would let me copy theirs, so I really didn't care about being lost in class. That went on for the entire two years of junior high school. Then it was time for high school.
I was headed for a brand-new start. Only knowing one person would be a blessing for me because now I could pay attention and study. For the first time in two years I was doing well in class. I understood the lesson and the homework. I don't know how long it took before they found me or I found them. It doesn't matter who found who because it happened. I started to make friends. Maybe the wrong kind and maybe not. It was up to me to stay focused and I didn't. Well not as good as I could have. I was still doing well in most classes but others I was just barely passing. I started cutting and getting in trouble with deans. I really can't blame my friends because they are the same friends that I have now three years later. I would have to blame it on my own ignorance. I am still doing well in some classes and okay in others. I was still having problems up until last year. Now I stay out of trouble. I still have problems focusing. That has been one of the main problems in my life but it is something which hope to turn around. One thing that has been extremely good in my school life is something that most people would quickly discount as insignificant or unimportant. It is the fact that I found the love of my life. Finding love and having the type of friends that I have are the only things that really deep me going. Without knowing it they are the positive factros in my life. Helping me with my work and encouraging me to do better help me everyday. I don't know if it is possible for me to ever properly thank them.
 As I put these facts to paper for the first time ever, I have to wonder what caused this. Was it the divorce? Did the problems have an effect on my subconscious? Or have I just changed for the worst? I really don't know. I don't even know how this went from a story about my neighborhood to a reflection on my school life. I don't even have a title.