Outside TMA

Human Biology classroom at City College.

As many may know, I work immediately after school at the TMA lower school. I also take college classes on Saturday mornings from 9:00am - 1:20pm at City College through a program called College Now. When I began both the job and the college courses, I never thought much of it besides getting paid and having a good looking college application. However, both my job and college class have offered me a whole new realm compared to the one I live in TMA. They both require a great amount of responsibility and self teaching. These opportunities have ultimately given me the upper hand when it comes to tackling rigorous classes such as AP Biology. As a result,  I've become more independent in my studies, and enhanced my leadership skills.

I started taking college courses at city college about 2 years ago. The first course I took was Criminal Justice. My experience there gave me a taste of how college classes would be like. The teachers were less lenient and straightforward. They would hand you a syllabus the first day of class, which would display all the dates and topics to be covered every week. The syllabus basically outlined the entire class and all the required assignments which were pretty much three test or quizzes (depending on the type of class) I found it very difficult to juggle college classes and regular school work, but I still tried my best. (by 'trying my best' I mean procrastinating all week up until Friday night where I would try to cram a weeks worth of studying for Saturday morning.)
The commute from school to work is such a hassle; the bus never arrives on time. Therefore every single day I have to speed walk a distance of about 20 blocks. Many times I have contemplated quitting my job. I never get enough to for homework or even spare time to finish up college applications. Then one day as I entered my job tirelessly, I was greeted by 10 swarming bodies that were happy to see me. I was surprised (well I wasn't that suprised because I knew what an awesome after school counselor I was). But seeing how much my kids appreciated me, warmed my heart up so much. Now despite the struggle to get to work on time, it has become the best part of my day.


All in all, I am glad and blessed to have experienced these moments. They have only helped me with my transition to adulthood. Unknowingly, they have made me a a very independent student who has learned how to self teach herself. I have learned to appreciate these extracurriculars for more than just pretty words on my college applications