<p>Hey everyone. I happened to read the "if I can do this, anyone can." thread and thought I'd share my story as well. To you slackers out there, I'm talking to you. To those who feel alienated, I'm talking to you.</p>
<p>I was always fairly intelligent. Was in the gifted program in elementary school, honors classes in middle school, and always scored 98th percentile+ in standardized tests. The catch: I grew up in a household riddled with problems. If it wasn't the domestic violence at home, it was the violence outside. I grew up on the east side of Los Angeles. At the time, I really didn't think these things affected me. I didn't feel emotionally unstable or anything, despite the fact that it was during my developmental teenage years. I was wrong.</p>
<p>Around 8th grade (yes, 8th grade) everything started going downhill. I started getting involved in things I shouldn't have - drinking, smoking weed, tagging, all the typical LA ghetto crap (I cringe looking back at this). Despite my being in honors classes, I didn't care about school. I'd skip and go to the park to drink instead. I managed to get 5 Fs, 1 D, and wasn't allowed to walk the stage for culmination. So humiliating, especially since my honors class peers could not even fathom a B, let alone an F.</p>
<p>Things worsened in high school. My home school was one of the lowest performing high schools in LA, so this was no surprise. I continued with my vices, and what's worse - I found friends who did the same. I was enrolled in honors classes for 9th grade, got 4 Fs, a D in PE, and a B in English. The following year I was only allowed into Honors English. Not like it made a difference, though. I skipped school regularly, drank, went to gigs, started smoking cigarettes, and got involved with a very detrimental group of friends. All things I would smack myself for if I could go back in time. I failed all of my classes.</p>
<p>It was at this point that I dropped out and enrolled in a continuation school. You think your high school's a prison? Try being accompanied on timed bathroom breaks. Among the worst of the worst, I finally realized how low I had sunk. I quickly got over my self-pity, and while I didn't abandon my friends, I still found time to frantically make up all of my lost credits. By this time, I was living with a struggling single mother, a younger brother and a grandmother, so I also got a job as a clerical student worker. Working and going to school, I realized that a 180 degree turn was possible. I did so and never looked back. And while I was 2 classes short of graduating on time (didn't walk the stage, again) I finished the summer after my expected grad date and eventually got a diploma. I also took the SAT and scored quite well (2200+). I didn't apply to any 4-years as I had no idea how to even approach that route, so I enrolled at a CC.</p>
<p>At the CC, I took 10-12 units per semester while working 40 hours a week. Long story short, I transferred out 3 years later with my GEs + honors and a 3.75 GPA.</p>
<p>I just finished my first year at USC, where I earned a 3.8 my first semester, and a 3.6 this semester. I am having the time of my life, learning things I never thought I'd learn, and now looking into law schools.</p>
<p>I went from a HS dropout to an honors candidate at USC. If I can, so can you.</p>