Education Narrative

Akib’s Education Narrative

Ever had that one kid in class that would walk in 30 minutes late, sit next to his friend, and just talk endlessly while you’re trying to learn? The one kid that would ask for a pencil and looseleaf every day because he was always unprepared. The kid that never knew what was going on when the teacher would randomly call on him. As much as I don’t want to say it, that was me. I treated high school like it was somewhere I was forced to be, rather than somewhere I should’ve been grateful to be. I would do my homework sometimes, only if it was doable. I didn’t care what my teachers would teach in class because in my head I always thought, “when am I ever going to use this in the real world.” Okay, to an extent I was right. When am I ever gonna use complex fractions, system equations, and the distribution rule of multiplication in the real world? Never, I’ll tell you that right now. Even though I was a terrible student, my intentions were to always pass, even if it was barely passing. My intentions didn’t get me very far though since I was a terrible student. I failed two classes which resulted in me going to summer school. But it was pretty fun for me if I’m being honest because I had a class with two of my best friends which made time fly by so it never seemed like a punishment. 

I skipped school a lot. There was a time when I would get ready to go to school, take the train and bus there, but then never attend. I wouldn’t feel like it and would just go out with my friends until school was over and then go home. Now, skipping school like this eventually caught up to me. Since I never went to class, I never knew what the homework was and was never in class to do my classwork. My friends had told me that report cards were going to be given out and that we needed to go to school to get them. My heart was racing when I heard this news because I knew I was about to see all numbers below 65. So I went to school the next day, report card day. Phone calls were made to parents that report cards were given out. Now, this is where it got bad. Third period came and my teacher handed me my report card. Just as I expected, my grades were all below 65. Now in my head, I was thinking of what excuse to say to my parents to avoid showing them my report card. I decided to go with telling my parents that they didn’t hand out report cards, so that would buy me some time to make a fake report card with grades 80 and above in all my classes to show to my parents. On the bright side, my sister wouldn’t have a clue about any of this because she had just recently moved out. A little background on my sister, she was born in Bangladesh but was raised here in Brooklyn since she was seven. So she knows all the tricks in the book for lying about school stuff.

I go home confidently thinking that I’m going to be let off the hook with this perfect excuse. I open the door and see the absolute worst outcome that could possibly happen, my sister and her husband’s shoes at the front door. I go inside to see my sister and her husband sitting on my bed waiting for me. “Lemme see it,” she said. I accepted that it was over so I handed her my report card and then it started—the look of disbelief on both their faces, then the yelling. I got yelled at for so long but to be honest I wasn’t listening to any of it until one thing my sister said. “You know what happened to Asif right.” Asif is my cousin who’s irrelevant in my life. “No, what happened?” I said. “His grades were horrible just like yours, so he had to go to a community college and since he graduated from there no jobs wanted him, now look where he is.” Asif has no job and he’s completely broke and struggling in life. At that moment, I got the biggest reality check because I realized what I had been doing. I was on the path to becoming like Asif. Chills went down my body when I imagined what my life would be like if I turned out like him. After a while, my sister and her husband left my room and I was alone with my thoughts. 

I realized that I needed to change and become the best version of myself. My thoughts consisted of needing to do well in school to prepare for college, get a high-paying job, retire my dad, buy my parents a house, etc. I’ve always had these dreams and goals but I never actually put the time into achieving them. That day I realized that education is the key to starting a better life for me and my parents. I’m the last person in my family to give us the life we desire so it’s all up to me to make that happen. It gets hard sometimes knowing I have all this pressure on me but I know that if I just keep pushing, it’ll all be worth it in the end. I went from not caring about high school to doing the best I possibly can in college. I see a huge change in myself and I’m very proud of that so I know I can do it. Everything changed from that day forward, and it changed for the better. 

My passion for succeeding in becoming smarter and doing well in my education continues to grow day by day. Reading the education narrative, “Learning to Read,” by Malcolm X encouraged me to learn more about my major, the jobs I can get with my degree, and the field itself. Now, Malcolm X and I aren’t alike. He was a “street hustler convicted of robbery” which resulted in him spending seven years of his life in prison. Despite his actions, he used those seven years to educate himself which made him very intelligent. Before he studied the dictionary, he only knew how to speak in slang, which obviously affected his writing. He couldn’t even write in a straight line. But after picking up a dictionary, his life changed. He began to copy the words onto his tablet which he requested from the Norfolk Prison Colony school and started reading back to himself everything he wrote down. He continued this process for the entire dictionary. The dedication he had to keep pushing forward to learn the entire dictionary truly amazes me and motivates me to do better in my studies. A man that was doing seven years in prison, having little to nothing, made a difference in his life for the better. I will forever remember his story, motivating me to do better in my studies and become the person I strive to be.