My charter school speech

It feels a little bit strange for me when I am asked back here to talk about how the charter school has helped me become a successful adult. I happily do it, because I know this school did wonders for me. Nonetheless, it's strange because I don't really appear all that successful on paper.

I'm 24 years old. And yet I only have an associates degree instead of the the doctorate I thought I would have. I work two jobs just to make ends meet. One of which requires me to touch people's back hair. The other requires me to ask, “Did anyone save room for dessert?” I am not a home owner. I'm not a mother. I haven't traveled. I can't dance. I talk about my cats too often. I live a whopping half-hour from the town where I grew up. I don't have an overabundance of nice clothing. And my cell phone isn't due for an upgrade for another whole year.

However, one really important idea this school introduced me to was that success is a very personal thing. In this school, there are no two identical routes to a student's diploma. Students design plans that work for their individual educational needs. I have found it's no different after school. There are no two identical routes to what makes a person successful in life.

So, yes, to someone who does not know my personal aspirations, I probably seem like a pretty big loser.

As it turns out, my #1 objective in life is to simply be happy. I have approached this undertaking just as I would a charter school project. I looked at what elements I needed to take to be successful. And I came up with two big ones.

First, I need to be in close proximity to my loved ones to be happy. So I live near my loved ones. Check.

Second, I need to feel fulfilled in what I do. I am a massage therapist during the day and then I moonlight as a waitress part time. I like them, but they're just jobs. I don't really feel attached to them as if I expect them to define me. I have yet to officially decide what I want to do when I grow up. This used to really bother me. In college, I had no clue. I knew I wanted to be a writer in some way, but I was terrified of settling for something that used my passion, but didn't make me feel good in doing so. For example, writing textbooks.

So, instead of choosing a college major and possibly ending up with a life in textbook purgatory, I graduated at two years of college instead of more. I know college is always there for me to go back to.

“What I do” has been about my writing ever since I was a student at this school. I had inklings of it previous to coming to the charter school as a senior, but not the confidence in myself or my grammar to ever even take any classes above what I was required at the traditional school.

I was and still am a slow reader. Every time I was called on to read out loud, I would stutter due to nerves. I thought that this meant I was only a stone's throw away from being completely illiterate. I needed my time here at the charter school to realize that writing was that proverbial baby I was throwing out with my anxiety bathwater.

Ms. M was my adviser during my year at the charter school. I was very fortunate because she really helped me overcome my debilitating neuroticism by making me talk to people all the time. Don't get me wrong, I'm still pretty neurotic. Public speaking rates right up there with heights and death on my list of fears. But I've come a long, long way. I owe her an organ donation somewhere down the road.

My senior year was this school's first year. I had all of my required courses out of the way. Pretty much, I had to bide a year's time since my parents didn't want me to graduate early. In fact, the reason I decided to try the charter school in the first place was because I was miffed at my guidance councilor for telling me that colleges would frown upon a course load of nothing by art and study hall.

I was given the freedom to spend a whole school year studying anything I wanted. And with a little stern encouragement from Ms. M and Ms. L, I decided to write something. If I failed, it wouldn't damage my GPA, because there are no formal grades given at this school. Moreover, if I failed, it would be in front of a relatively small group of people, half of which were under the age of 15 anyway.

I wrote a play, which in and of itself might not sound like a big of a deal. But for me, this was the longest single thing I'd ever written before. Forty five pages. It was the first thing I accomplished in school that actually excited me.

With the collaboration of a lot of fellow students, community members and staff, we were able to put my play on as a dinner theater that spring. This involved everything from proposing the purchase of these expensive curtains, to designing and creating costumes, casting, directing, serving the food. Being at least a little bit involved in every single facet of this project taught me that the thing I truly enjoyed above all else was the writing.

I have written every day since then. I don't usually get paid for it. Sometimes I do. But I am rewarded with positive feedback and the enjoyment of doing it. Among other writing projects, I blog, I journal and I have been doing a weekly newspaper column for the last four years. I challenge myself with it by forcing myself to write things I will actually allow other people to read. For me, this is success.

This is the sort of success I want in my life. I think my time at this school has shown me how to look at my own life's progression. Consequently, it has been a very long time since I thought myself a loser, even during the most loserly-looking times of my adult life so far. I am involved in what I want out of my life. Because it's my life and my individual journey, just like it's each individual's education here at this school.

Thank you.