Module 12- Reality Check -Story Time
Module 12
Reality Check
There are times in life when reality starts to set in and you realize changes have to be made. I was a Senior in high school and the options for me were very slim. At this very moment in time, I was being presented with an opportunity that could elevate my life and I had enough sense to take it! I was excited and ready.
Story Time
Getting into college was now my mission. Deep down inside, I knew I wanted to attend SCSU, but my defense mechanism was to refuse it and not let anyone know that I was really interested because I knew I hadn’t prepared properly for college. As we sat on the steps outside the admissions office, I stared up at the deep blue sky. JD was sitting next to me, and he asked, “Lo, are you going to go here?”
I looked at him and said, “Naw, man this ain’t really my style.” Instead of jumping for joy and screaming as loud as the SC State 101 marching band, I remained calm. “It probably cost too much anyway.” I was thinking of other things I could say so JD would lay off and not ask me any more questions.
“Man, you see these girls?” he said. “Those two over there... Man, that could be us, man. Come on.”
I played it cool because I didn't want to be too excited in case it didn't pan out, “Them chicks don’t want us, man. Look at them guys they kicking it with.” One had on a jacket that was red and white and had funny letters on it. “What kind of jacket is that?” I said to JD.
He knew a lot about college and college life. His village had prepared him well, “Man, those are the Kappa’s. It’s a fraternity ya know?” “No, not really,” I said.
He began to talk about Omega’s and Kappa’s, and I began to fade into those blue clouds. The peacefulness of the campus, the birds chirping, and the sunshine smiling down on us felt so good.
There were no broken bottles on the ground, no old needles left in the grass from the junkies that had been there previously, no broken windows or graffiti written across deserted houses, no patches of dirt where the grass didn’t grow, no drug dealers standing around waiting for the next car to drive up so they could fight over who was going to make the sale, no cars sitting on cinder blocks, no box fans in the windows, no smell of marijuana in the air, and no one fighting in the streets. There were just kids going to class trying to pass. JD eventually started laughing with another boy who was on the trip, and they struck up another conversation.
The more I watched those young educated kids walk past me, the more I wanted to be like them. But I wasn’t sure if the university was ready to have me. I started thinking about all the things I should have done, and now it’s too late. I thought back to how I chose my classes at Sumter High School. I remembered some kids in my class saying that they were going to take college prep classes so they could be ready for college when the time was right. If only I had done the same thing. If only someone would have told me that taking Mathematics for the Workplace was only going to teach me about counting money and cashiering, maybe I would have listened. If only someone would have told me not to take English: Communications for the Workplace, I could have skipped the humiliation of tearing my homework out of a workbook and turning it in like a 3rd grader.
Mrs. Hampton, the English teacher, often let me work with other kids in the class who were having problems with the material. English was one of my best subjects. I sat in the front of the class which because I loved the content and it made sense. I made straight A’s in that class, and it was partly because of my unofficial role. Secretly, I knew she didn’t need me to explain things and work with other people in the class, but she let me do it anyway. That meant more to me than the class itself. Finally, a teacher, someone who I felt was important, thought I was important. I knew I could have done better work in a higher-level class, but when I enrolled, my main goal was to graduate with four English credits and not stress about the workload.
Looking back on it, the class was not about satisfying an English credit; it was about me getting some emotional satisfaction and learning how to feel like a winner with an important leadership role in the classroom. I don’t know if Mrs. Hampton did it on purpose or not, but she did it. The next year I took the highest level of English I could take, and I did just fine. Once again, I had taken the low road and now I was starting to regret it.
What if South Carolina State University would not accept me? I spent four years of high school dodging the hard classes; I had a history of dumbing down, not working as hard as I knew I could.
Now that I was close to making this huge decision, the self-doubt started to settle in. I remember it like it was yesterday. We completed our applications by hand while sitting on the steps of Wilkinson Hall, and we turned them in before we left. Little did I know that my future had been pre-determined and that this mighty institution would change my life forever.
As we departed the school, I was not sure if I would ever return. What I did figure out in those few hours was that college was, in fact, the perfect place for me, and I wanted to come back. I wanted it more than anything I had ever wanted before, and I was now on a new mission to get into this magical place of educational harmony. This was a place where I could grow and escape the ills of the community that I had grown up in during the ’80s and mid-’90s.
College was a different world where people wanted to be in class, to achieve more, and to be successful. It was a place where a young person could get the support needed, to grow into an adult and live a life that he or she never dreamed of. I was so excited I couldn’t believe it. College was becoming a possibility, and that's all I could ask for as I began to take the necessary steps to make it a reality. It’s important to give life and positive energy to your possibilities, which are things in your life that have a chance of becoming real. It’s important to accept those ideas, to believe that those same ideas can come true. Also, tell people about your possibilities because the more you talk about them and visualize yourself doing them, the closer you will be to making them a reality.
Why did Marlo initially hide his interest in attending South Carolina State University (SCSU)?
- Think about his feelings and concerns about not being prepared for college.
What were some of Marlo's thoughts and observations while sitting outside the admissions office at SCSU?
- Consider what he noticed about the campus environment and how it contrasted with his previous experiences.
How did Marlo's high school class choices impact his feelings about applying to college?
- Reflect on his regret about the classes he chose and how it influenced his self-doubt.
What role did Mrs. Hampton play in the narrator's academic experience, and how did it affect him?
- Think about his relationship with his English teacher and how it contributed to his sense of self-worth and academic success.
What realization did Marlo have about college by the end of the visit, and what new mission did he set for himself?
- Consider his change in perspective about college and his determination to pursue higher education.
Activity
Don't Be Too Cool For School!
Describe a time you were excited about something but you didn't want anyone to know? What was the situation and what was the outcome?
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