sticks and stones... but your words will only motivate me

In the fall of 1998 I started my freshman year at Winnsboro High.  Not only was it my first day as a freshman, it was my first time to set foot in a public school.  I had every emotion racing through my body as I walked through the front doors.  Having been forewarned by my friends of all the negative aspects of public school, I started the year with a pessimistic attitude.
I battled my way through the crowded halls to get from one class to the next. At the beginning of every class it never failed that someone would ask me, "Where did you used to go to school?"  I would quietly reply, so others would not hear, "I have been home schooled and privet schooled all of my life." 
Overhearing my conversation about my previous schooling, a girl in the back of my algebra class said aloud, "How can you get from home school to high school without going to some type of extra summer school?  She also said I couldn’t possibly know the same material as she.  Before I could defend myself, she told me I would never be able to keep up with the class, and I would not maintain the good grades as she did.
    From then on I studied day and night to keep my grades good.  No longer was an 87 good enough for me.  I needed to prove, not only to my classmates, but also to myself that I was capable of doing well in school.  I compared my grades to hers. If I were to slip as far as five points behind her on a grade, I considered myself failing. I worked hard for my grades, though it seemed to come with ease for the others. 
    I later learned that I enjoyed school. The grades were not as important as having the opportunity to go to public school, something the other students had taken for granted.  My grades were high and I did not have to struggle to maintain them. I looked forward to every day at school, and every night at school activities.  
    By my sophomore year I learned that I had done so much work, that I only lacked 7 credits in order for me to graduate as a senior the following year.  I was then asked if I would like to be a three-year graduate.
Through the guidance of a counselor, I went to Northeast Texas Community College to take my needed 7 credits that summer.  On the time I had turned in the certificates of completion of my 7 needed credits, I learned one had slipped through the files leaving me short one credit to becoming a senior.  Although there was a glitch in the information the counselor gave me, I was still able to be a three-year graduate.
I graduated that year classified as a junior and because of that I was not recognized as one of the top in my class.  A week after graduation we were asked to give a short speech to thank anyone who has been a part of our success.  The graduates first thought of only thinking their parents and families for support.
As I began my speech, I first thought of only one person, which was my best friend Bethany Spencer.  She made me want to try harder.  She would always make me feel like I could improve on something.  I thanked her for standing up in the back of my algebra class that one morning and saying what she had.     

I wrote this January 31, 2002, It is a true story- I later became good friends with the girl but I changed her name in my paper.