Now day’s high school has changed in many different ways. As the years pass by in middle school everyone looks forward to the big school. Most people say high school years were the best four years of their lives; however in my particular case high school just isn’t for me. My high school years have been a drag due to my struggles I have faced in everyday school life. I have come to the decision of doing online school as an alternative to solving my issues I have such as: bullying, the atmosphere of school and the lack of support from staff. These have become the very reasons on why I have rejected public school and think online would be effective for me.

Why do online school? Well for me online schooling is a way to set myself free from bullying. My problem all started when I first stepped into the hallways of middle school but even followed me into high school and has stuck ever since. At first I thought it was just me, but then I slowly started to realize it was others. They weren’t the same; people were crueler than ever. You would think once people got to high school they would grow up. It first started when a particular group of girls treated me as if I was a girl with some contagious disease. As I would walk down the halls they would follow and say profane things to me and along with that they would shove me. I eventually learned to just walk with my head down like I had a bag over my head and tell myself it would be okay. I remember a particular day my freshmen year when I was walking home. A group of girls who thought they were in a gang decided to follow me all the way from school to two blocks away from my destination. Long story short one girl in particular started to shove me and call me names and before I knew it she started to punch me in the face reputedly. Thank god a lady came out saying she would call the cops. Yes I was okay. But I’m telling you this because I remember that day like it was just yesterday. It was the first time I had felt so scared in my life. In fact that’s not the only incident where I felt so intimidated. My junior year which is now my current grade is where the bullying really progressed and has become worse than I ever imagined it to be. A new group of senior girls began to harass me. They didn’t just call me names but they went out of their way just to make my life miserable. One day at lunch I had to walk past their table only because the other way out of the cafeteria was blocked off. As I was walking by they asked me what I was staring at but of course I didn’t respond, so they followed me all the way to my lunch table threatening to beat me up and saying I was too scared to say anything. It wasn’t quite over yet, when I had gone to the principal I was sent to the office to fill out a form on what happened and of course on my way there they followed saying they would jump me and were calling me a cry baby. It all came down to getting an in school restraining order, but even then that didn’t stop the girls from bullying me. Bullying has followed me throughout my high school years tearing me down not just as a person but mentally and emotionally to the point I am in counseling for it. It’s become so bad that it is defining who I am and this is my main reason to do online school.

My second reason for doing online school is because the school’s atmosphere has become a distraction in my education. School is meant to be a safe place isn’t it? School for me has become so frightening that every morning I cry to my parents begging them not to make me go to school. I can’t concentrate in school anymore due to the fact I’m always looking over my shoulder. There’s not one moment where I’m not siting in class thinking about if those girls or if they will be out their waiting for me. I even had to start worrying about if I would be jumped during my passing time. I seem to always be worrying about my safety. I don’t want to go to school anymore due to how terrified I am. School seems to be a place where everyone is loud and can’t be quiet. During work time in my clan time I can’t concentrate on the things I do because it’s a bunch of high schoolers who act as if they’re five. While doing online school I can work at my own pace and won’t be distracted by those around me. I can work in my own little quiet place, not only that but I won’t have to always be looking over my shoulder to know if I’ll be okay or not.

Last but not least my very last reason for doing online school is the lack of support from staff. Once you get to high school you start to dream big and make goals for later in the future. You start to finally follow your dreams. One day when I was talking to one of my teacher telling him I planned on going to college to be a pediatric cardiologist his reaction was just to laugh. He later replied with “good luck with that kid, why go to college wasting your time to be some heart doctor? Not only that but you’re going to waste your years of life only to fail. No one is going to hire you. Plus you’re just going to be in debt for the rest of your life in college loans.” I never imagined my own teacher to say such a horrible thing. My dreams were just crushed. I can’t just forget that he said that, it made me feel like I really was wasting my time. It wasn’t even worth saying I was going to be a pediatric cardiologist because not just him but almost every teacher laughed at me like I was a fool. Also other things teachers aren’t supportive in are putting a stop to bullying. As I mentioned earlier in my paper about my own personal experience with bullying, you’re probably wondering if anything got done. Well sorry to say this but it hasn’t. Time and time again I have went to the counselors with many problems I have had and all he responds with is suck it up that’s how life is. He’s not the only one who’s like that even the principal is. When I had went to him about the group of girls and how it was progressing. He didn’t really seem to care at all. Of course he pulled the group of girls in and it was my word against theirs. The principal just looked at me and told me he didn’t know what to believe. See I’ve never been a girl to get in trouble and nothing hurts more than seeing that girl get away with doing such horrible things to someone even with a restraining order. It hurts even more to be a victim of bullying and watching the “criminal” always get a slap on the hand. What will it take for people to stand up and put a stop to it? What will it take for them to realize enough is enough? I personally feel they don’t care for the safety of individuals anymore. That’s just my own opinion though. Staff needs to be more supportive in all cases.

Yes I agree life has its up and downs, but how much can you take of it? Online schooling is a great opportunity for me to escape the bullying, the schools atmosphere, and everyday negativity of the staff members. I know sometimes you need to be strong and face yours fears and you can’t always run away from problems in life, but what would you do if you were in my shoes and bullied every day? Sometimes you can only fight back for so long before you lose. Staff not only needs to stand up and do what’s right, but will it take someone to take their own life away for staff to do the right thing? High school has changed in so many ways. I just want to be myself again, to be happy, and to finally not to have to worry if I’ll be okay or not. This online school has opened that door for me and I’ll take whatever it takes to get away from such a horrible experience.