I just turned sixteen when I dropped out in my freshman year. I had gotten into a fight with a girl at the high school, and they suspended me for one hundred forty-five days. I went to a program called ACE, but in the process of getting transferred back to high school, my learning just disappeared. I was too cool to repeat ninth grade. No way!
I didn’t need my parent’s permission, and I dropped out. That was the biggest mistake of my life.
When I was incarcerated last April, my probation officer told me the terms of my probation was to get my GED in the Pima County Jail or get it when I got released in July. I tried taking it in jail, but it was hard. The classroom was as big as my cell with twelve students and one teacher. I started the LEARN program when I got out. I like the teachers, and I feel I working more on my level. I’m not treated like a little kid. It’s easy to come to school.
A GED will make a tremendous difference in my life. For even flipping burgers at Burger King, I need a GED. It is something I have to do for myself. I told myself I was going to get a high school diploma. A GED will give me back my self-confidence. I’ll be able to say, “I’m just as good as everyone else.” I’ve been trying since age seventeen, and I’m twenty-five now. This time I have family support and come to LEARN with my niece.
I’d like to say to everyone, “Stay in school!”