Misunderstanding Life Essay, Research Paper
Misunderstanding life
There were three words that changed my intellectual life and the way I had perceived things. Think about it! Those were the words that were said to me, the phrase think about it didn’t have such a powerful meaning until that day. I would have never thought that three words could change a person’s life, it changed mines. These words think about it became the most influential words I’ve ever heard. It was the person who said it and the way he said it that made me take the words in a serious way.
My life in elementary was taking a turn for worst I was a bad, carefree, and a want be hard core kid. Even with my mother in the school working as a teacher assistant my behavior was at a low for about eight hours a day at school. My sixth grade teacher on the first day said ” I’m not going to have any loud mouth punks in this class. This is my class if you or anyone else don’t like what I’m doing in here they will be asked to leave”. When he announced that I believe that he was talking about me. What the teacher said to me during that time seemed to me as a bunch of garbage and it didn’t effect me, I knew what I was going to do (be a pest) and not do (be a angel). Even though this was the meanest teacher that was in the school and we disagreed on many things, I felt that he sensed that I respected him. In the middle of the school year I was often catching myself doing things that I wasn’t supposed to, just to test my boundaries. The process of my intellectual life changing came about because of a thing that I did to a girl.
One day a girl and I were walking back to class after gym, the gym was in the basement and our class was on the fourth floor. I think just because she was a girl and I had a reputation of being bad, I had to do something to her that would make her laugh or get a reaction out of her. So as we walked up the stairs I turned around and put my hands were they was not supposed to be. I heard her scream and I ran up the stairs faster than Carl Lewis. When she screamed it echoed and everyone in the building could probably hear. I ran away my classroom because I knew that the teacher would be waiting for me, he would have suspended me if she had told him what I did.
So I ran to the second floor to the cafeteria were a stage was located, I know that I would have never been caught there. In the back of the cafeteria the stage was located with curtains, behind the curtains there was a closet in which no one used anymore, it had old pianos and instruments in it. The closet was so scary because it was wet from the ceiling leaking, dark, narrow, and you never knew what was in there. I waited and waited in the closet for my teacher to come in and find me but he never did. I wanted to get out of the closet and let everyone know where I was, but I knew that I would get in trouble and my mom would beat me in school if they had found me there. While I was in the closet everyone was looking for me in the school. I began to think to myself that when I get out of the closet I would be considered a coward, pervert, or a nasty little rapist. I said to myself that the sooner I came out of hiding the easier my punishment would be. I was in the closet for a long time when I went in it was about 10:45 and when I showed my face it was about 2:00. I guess when your in trouble time goes by fast and when your in a boring situation time goes by slow, well it flew by for me because I took napes occasionally It felt like I was only in the closet for a couple hours.
When I mustarded up the courage to come out of the closet, I noticed that I was the only person standing in the cafeteria. And one of the only two people I wished wouldn’t walk threw the door came in, my mother (Mr.Keulaber was the other). My mom was crying, I asked her if she was mad she told me “No I was just worried”. The whole time that I was in the closet everyone thought that I was kidnapped or something of that sort.
My mom escorted me to the principal’s office saying nothing to me; the principal wasn’t present at her office because she was out in the school still looking for me, my mother sat me in front of the principal’s desk and then departed without saying anything to me. As I waited for someone to come in and talk to me I heard an announcement that “Michael has been found”; I came to realize that the girl had never told no one what I did. When she got in class and the teacher asked where was I she had to tell the teacher something like he was running to somewhere in a hurry and I don’t know were he ran to. I guess the teacher didn’t realize that I was gone for most of the end of the day. It was a coincident that I wasn’t in trouble from the girl but now I was in trouble for running away. So the problem with the girl never came up, I only faced the problem of why I ran away. My mom entered back into the office she asked me ” Why I ran away to the closet” I told her that I needed a break from everyone and I wanted to be alone. I could tell when my mother was mad because her eyes would get smaller in physical form, In which that had happened in the office. I recognize that I was over my head in trouble, all I did was pray to god that I would be able to survive this death trap that I made for myself. I remember telling myself that if I got out of this one that I would never do another bad thing while I was living.
My teacher Mr.Keulaber came in the office and following him was the lovely principal Mrs. Kunkel they both looked serious, I knew that if I could get Mrs. Kunkel’s punishment and not my mom’s or Mr. Keulaber I would survive. But the first person I was crossed examined by was Mr. Keulaber; he transformed into a different person who was not to be messed with. I sat in the principal’s visitor chair thinking that it will all be over soon all that I had to do is to listen to them. Mr. Keulaber first word to me was ” What the hell is the matter with you”; I didn’t know how to answer it so I didn’t say anything. ” I have 29 other students to worry about I can’t give you all the attention, I’m just one person and your not working with me. I hope that you and your mom have a nice talk when you get home.” I was happy that Mr. Keulaber was done with me now all I had was my mother because Mrs. Kunkel was a nun before she was a principal and she wouldn’t do anything to me. My mom came to talked next she told me the worst phrase in the world when it comes to my mother she said,” I will see you when I get home”. That was over and all I had now was Mr. Kunkel she made me feel so small that day I would never want discipline from her again. I learned a lesson that people are not always the way I think they are.
I couldn’t believe it I survived the worst punishment in the world I taught I went home and turned on the TV until my mom got home from work. When she got home she told me to go to bed, I went straight to my room and fell asleep because I didn’t want to hear any smart comments from my 3 older brothers and my sister. It was still early when she sent me bed I believe it was about 6:30pm and the sun was still out. At about 12:00am my mother woke me up not to eat dinner but to talk, everyone was seated on the kitchen’s round table, and I was seated in the head chair, the chair in which you sit in you talked. I felt like I was King Author at the round table, I had to answer about 2 million questions while I was half-asleep and half-awake. I didn’t take to mind what they were telling me, I just heard but I didn’t listen. I felt that I got off easy with my mom, maybe because my sister and brothers eased her to a talk to me. If my mom would had found out the real reason that I had ran away she would had beaten me in the principal’s office with the principal watching.
The next day at school I faced my biggest challenge, my teacher Mr. Keulabor this was the day that changed my life. I went into class after all the students did, I thought as I walked in the class I would say sorry to the girl I had my interaction with yesterday. Well, I walked straight passed her desk, which was in front of the class and whispered, a little sorry. If my mom would had of known of what I had done to the girl she would have had me do something like that, so that’s why I did it. After apologizing I speed walked to the back of the room where my desk was located. No one knew what I was talking about when I said sorry, but I did and I felt much better after saying that. I sat down in my chair knowing that it was all over, because I had my punishment for running away and she didn’t tell anyone what I did to her. She didn’t tell maybe because it would be embarrassing for the both of us. On the chalk board Mr. Keulabor had just started his lesson, he wrote WHAT DO YOU PICTURE YOURSELF AS AND DOING IN 10 YEARS our assignment was to write a in class essay on that. I did it but not in the correct way, I seek out some interests in my brain and started an essay about them. Mr. Keulabor went around reading every student in the class essays, when he got to me he didn’t read it, he threw it in the garbage. I didn’t say anything because I felt that he was mad at me, he told me that he would talk to me after school. I pictured him yelling at me about running away from his class again and I wasn’t going to show up for that altercation.
After school I sat in my chair and watched as Mr. Keulabor walked all the students out of the door. I said to myself if I didn’t touch that girl I wouldn’t have ran away, if I didn’t run away then I would be sitting here right now. He sat down in front of me in a little chair just as I had, and he said ” Were do you see yourself in 10 years?” I looked at him and said I don’t know, he said it again ” Were do you see yourself in 10 years?” Then he said the words that changed my life “think about it; and tell me something tomorrow”, I was excused after that. I went home with the same attitude, that I was happy that I got out of there. After dinner with my family I sat on my bed and thought about what he said. I didn’t see myself going anywhere in life and all I saw was that I was going to be a drop out if I didn’t straightened up. In seeing that my life was not going anywhere, I became motivated and inspired to do better in class, my grades and behavior both improved in one marking period and has been the same since then. I was Mr. Keulabor’s student of the year and he voted me into the Young Scholars Liberty Partnership Program, because his confidence in me was great.