Ninth grade was by far the most rigorous year of high school for me because of the classes I was taking.  I had always breezed through my classes in middle school with straight A's and no problems.  I usually didn't even have to study for my tests or quizzes because I could retain the material easily.  But freshman year rang like a blaring wake up call and flashed red like sirens.

    The first semester began with a series of reviews over what we'd learned in our previous years followed by tests.  After receiving my grades of these major tests, I knew that change was eminent.  My usual 100 transformed into a devastating 72 in biology.  "How can this happen?" I asked myself.  Right then I should've taken the initiative to begin studying and preparing for future assignments.  Instead, I waited until it was almost too late.  My final exam for the first semester approached me quickly, and I knew that this grade would either make or break my streak of all A's.  That is when I began to use my resources.  I picked up my smelly and stale biology book and notes, and I studied for the final.

    A few late nights payed off with the 98 I received on that exam, and it taught me a valuable lesson.  I realized that studying would be the only way I was going to survive high school.  I went to tutoring for math, requested special studying material for English, read the pages required for history, and I always kept my notes close by.
   

Using the most of each day, I would always make sure to finish my assignments and turn them in on time.  I used every resource available to make my freshman year a prosperous one.  I used help from older students, my parents, beat up textbooks and neatly recorded notes.  Capitalizing these opportunities is the reason I've maintained straight A's to this day.  Because that experience helps me to remember, I now know to utilize all of the resources I can find.  Even if that means for me to make a change and do things a different way than I'm used to.