I started going to
school at Delta
College when I was 15 years old in January
2010. Granted, I would turn 16 about a week later, but I was in fact
15 years old when I started school that winter semester.
I hated middle
school. It was such a huge change from what I was used to in
elementary school and I could not deal with it. I think a big part of
this had to do with the fact that, since I was in the PAT Program
(Program for the Academically Talented) at my elementary school, I
was with the exact same group of students for five years. They became
like my family. Several of them went to the same middle school as me,
but many went elsewhere. Add in the hundreds of new students around
us on a daily basis and it was just too much change for me. This led
to me missing a lot of school in sixth and seventh grade, and then
finally becoming a homebound student in eighth grade. I had a teacher
who would come to my house twice a week and give me the homework I
was to complete.
I didn't want to go
back to regular school the next year, especially considering I would
be starting high school. However, my parents did not give me a
choice, so I went. I hated it just as much, if not more, than middle
school. I had several classes where didn't know anybody or just knew
one or two people. I hated those classes in particular. It was
eventually decided that I would go to school for half the day and
complete the rest of my classes at home. It was like this for the
rest of my freshman year. It was not ideal to me, but it worked
better than the alternative.
My sophomore year
was worse and I began missing a lot of school again. I hated going to
school. I felt like I had no freedom and it was hard for me to be
around that many people for so long, since I am not a very sociable
person, but rather very shy.
January 4th,
2010 was the last day I went to school at Central
High. It was the day after winter break had
ended. After one day back, I knew I could not handle it any more. I
was done. I knew that I was about to turn 16 and for my graduating
class, the legal dropout age was 16 years old. This time and what
exactly I said are quite blurry to me, but I basically told my mom
that I wanted to drop out of Central and start going to school at
Delta.
And that's what
happened.
My
mom works as a math professor at Delta. Because
of this, I get free tuition, which is why this was an option for me.
I would not have had this option otherwise – I would have had to
suck it up and get through two and a half more years of high school.
Sometimes I wonder how things would be different if I had stayed in
public high school, but at the end of the day, I'm content with the
decision I made.
 |
| My mom's office at Delta |
Just a day or two
after I dropped out of Central, my mom signed me up for my very first
classes at Delta. They were both online classes. The tests were in
the testing center, which was still in the library at the time. My
first semester at Delta went okay. I didn't do great in the classes,
but I didn't do terrible, either. I don't think I was fully motivated
at the time, which may have caused me to do worse than I could have
done otherwise.
For the next
semester, spring 2010, I signed up for my first face-to-face class at
Delta. I was nervous. It was four days a week and it was a math
class. I knew the teacher really well, because of my mom working in
the math department at Delta, so I wasn't concerned about that at
all. I was more concerned about being around a bunch of college
students who all seemed so much older than me. But, as it turned out,
it wasn't all that bad. I sat by the same girl every day and she
helped me when I needed help. She also thought it was cool that I was
the same age as her younger siblings. I ended up surviving my first
face-to-face class at Delta and I was so grateful for that.
Since those first
two semesters, I have taken classes at Delta in eight additional
semesters (including the current one and also including spring
semesters). There have been good and bad experiences during this
time.
The Good: I got to
take a class with my aunt who is also a student at Delta. We took
fitness walking together. I was dreading taking that class, but
having her with me made it so much fun. I've also had some amazing
professors, including some that I liked so much that I have taken
their classes multiple times.
The Bad: Whenever
other students in one of my classes would find out that I was 16 (or
later, 17), it would become a huge deal. After this happened two or
three times, I tried to avoid telling people my age. It made me
uncomfortable. Additionally, I felt as if people treated me
differently once they knew I was under 18. When I turned 18 last
year, I was able to blend in with everyone else a little better. This
was a welcomed change.
 |
| Me working on homework |
Since I've been at
Delta, I've gone to school every morning that I have class with my
mom. Sometimes I'm able to do homework in her office before my
classes start, which is nice. It's very quiet so I'm able to
concentrate.
 |
| The G-Wing entrance, where I walk into Delta every morning |
After many years of
hating school, Delta changed this for me. I don't hate school
anymore. I love going to Delta. I love having the freedom to choose
my own classes. I love being able to schedule my classes at the times
that work best for me. It has been such a better fit for me.
I will be
graduating from Delta after this semester. I'm really excited about
that, but I won't quite be finished with Delta. Before transferring
to another school, I'm planning on completing a couple
certificates, so I will be sticking around for
another year or so. I'm very much looking forward to the next year
and all that I will learn.
