My Voice; My Journey
Journalism means the world to me. And that's the reason I wanted to write about myself this time. Being in journalism not only improved my writing skills but it gave me a voice. To teach, inform and influence everyone who’s reading this. I didn’t have to hide behind my voice anymore, I made my voice hide behind me. I know deeply my voice is important and needs to be heard, journalism or not.
Middle school was rough. I was failing the easiest class ever. Algebra. Then Covid hit.
But before Covid, life was meaningless. My school was right in front of my house so I didn’t socialize much after school. During school, though, I would try to fit in with all of these cringe friend groups. They would bully me though, and I would believe it was just a friend thing. I was focused on everything but my schoolwork. I was always behind on video games and new consoles so I was always trying to catch up.
I would always stay in my room and that was my life. Staying in my room, never going out to play or to work out. I thought I would be a kid forever.
6th grade I failed. I had to repeat the grade. It was the first time and last time I failed a grade. During that summer, I improved on my technology skills, and quickly realized that computer science is my thing. Every other class was just terrible. Science was okay, ELA was…ELA, social studies was interesting, and math was shitty.
That continued all the way to 8th grade. I was part of the “Covid kids.” No graduation and no goodbyes. Of course this happened to every grade – whether someone was in college, high school, middle school, or elementary. There are kids who just started their school year, but it was quickly ruined for them. Without Covid… I wouldn’t have passed the grade.
Luckily I did. I was also lucky when I received the news that Comp Sci High chose me to go to their school. All my parents saw was the computer and they knew that was the school for me. Since the world was stuck in their homes, my parents didn’t care about the location. And soon enough, I was class of 2024 at CSH.
9th Grade
The summer before the next chapter of my life was not different than any other summer. Trapped at home playing games. Not to mention I gained around 40 lbs during quarantine. I hadn't hit my growth spurt yet so I looked like a volleyball. All my “friends” left me and I left them. I had only one. But I stayed to myself and my family. For them, Covid was something unbelievable. For me it was to, but I can sense they thought it was the end of the world. They had to come home double masked, washing their hands right away. I looked at them with fear in my eyes. “Is my whole life going to be like this?” “How will my family grow up with masks on their faces?” “Will I lose my parents to this virus?”
That’s when I took this virus seriously. This new school was going to be the school where I got an A-plus in all classes. When I visited the school to receive my computer and uniform in August, soon enough I was in my first class. And it wasn’t going well. CS was fun, Physics was sciencey, ELA was…ELA, math was stupid, and government and economics was shitty.
Remote classes didn’t help me, and my advisor knew that. I would sleep during the classes or just be on my phone. The day they opened in-person classes, I was shocked how small the school was. It wouldn't be a full day like now. It was like 2 to 3 classes and you could go home.
Not every day was in-person. Either way, this made me more social, more focused on academics, and a better person.
10th Grade
Almost every student was at the school building. Most of us had masks and vaccines, which made it much safer for all of us. School was “normal.” I had new advisors, Mr. Berrios and Ms. Agrawal. I took it as a chance to restart my school life.
I had more friends and got along with some people in my grade. A lot of drama went around about me, but that would all change at the end of the school year.
Classes were harder this year. Having a teacher teach right in front of you everyday was an upgrade, and a downgrade. APCS was my first AP class, which was terrible. Physics got harder. ELA was…still ELA. Math became easier. And Government & Economics became History, which was 10 times better.
Like I had mentioned before, this school year socially was not great for me. But then came the college trip.
Basically the college trip is a 3 day overnight trip where students can visit some colleges and get to know the college life. I wasn’t interested at first, but my mother convinced me to go and have fun. It was the best decision she had ever made, because in this trip is where I would meet my future girlfriend.
I received two awards that year, as well as a mental award. My mentality improved tremendously during the summer and I started focusing on my school work instead of my social life.
11th Grade
Then came 11th grade. They told me this was the year colleges look at, so I knew I had to “lock in.” Junior year was my favorite year here at Comp Sci High. Covid still was around, but the number of cases declined massively since 10th grade.
No one knew about my relationship until people started to notice. We were both shy to announce it, and when we were in school, we barely spoke.
Computer Science became my favorite class this year, as I was taking APCSA, which improved my CS skills tremendously. I’m pretty sure we were the first class ever to take this course at CSH which was just a great opportunity to be a part of. Physics became Environmental Science, becoming the easiest class in my 4 years here. ELA turned into ELA. Math, which was the only class me and Briana were together in, was interesting and revolutionary, and US History became Global History, featuring the Great Ms. Parcells (do I even have to explain how amazing this class was?).
I hung out less with my friends and just wanted to focus on the relationship I was in.
I received more awards this year and a weighted 3.94 gpa. I was super proud of myself and my work ethic last year. This year…not so much.
12th Grade
This year was incredibly stressful for me. Especially the college process. More about that later. But the trips, events and everything else about being a senior was just amazing. When they told me that I was going to love this year, I should’ve believed it.
The classes that I took also made me more confident moving on to college. These classes further improved my skills of writing, calculating, coding, reading the periodic table, and being able to understand other countries' politics.
Journalism
Journalism was something that I was super interested in doing, especially after my summer internship of documenting a social issue. I wanted to continue talking to and helping my community, and this was the greatest opportunity to do just that. Our grade being the first grade to do Journalism is a blessing. Future students of CSH see the impact of the Python Post, and are just dying to take the class. Having Mr. Kelly as a teacher made me more comfortable being a journalist and also pushed me to seek out the truth in my writing.
“Sam Garcia is a highly passionate, curious, and entirely individual student with a strong interest in his community, and a real desire to be the best version of himself” - Mr. Kelly
Pre-Calc
Pre-Calc was a struggle at first, but I got the hang of it. It brought back many lessons that I did last year which did make passing each trimester a smooth ride. Having Ms. Johnson was a blast, I learned more about the class, and life with her. Being in a class with the other grades was also cool. Figuring out new perspectives and meeting new friends.
“Sam Garcia is a quiet storm, a force to be reckoned with. He is rarely the loudest person in the room, but his work ethic and academic results speak volumes. In the time I have known Sam, I have witnessed him as a loyal and fierce friend, a faithful, thoughtful, and loving boyfriend, and an exemplary student.
Not only is Sam incredibly smart, but he is also a humble individual who is always willing to help others. This trimester, I had the opportunity to discover his coding skills, as well as his soft skills in navigating meetings with outside parties, project management, and problem-solving. Additionally, Sam demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt to new challenges and learn quickly. His dedication to continuous improvement and his innovative approach to problem-solving are truly impressive.
Sam is an incredible student with many talents, and I know he will go far in whatever path he chooses.” - Ms. Johnson
Software Engineering
Software engineering with Ms. Agrawal, Ms. Pham, and Mr. Castro was a great ending to my coding journey here at CSH. Meeting Ms. Pham and Mr. Castro for the first time was super dope. Having all three of them as teachers will boost my confidence as a software engineer. They convinced me and my friend David Cardoso to make a CSH alumni directory, which has to be the highlight of SE12.
Chemistry
Chemistry was the first science class after physics that I had trouble doing. But over time the class started to get easier, and I was genuinely learning amazing stuff that I know will be beneficial for college next year. Ms. Bute is an amazing teacher and does a great job at teaching chemistry. It’s definitely a class that I would love to start over and do all again.
AP Comp
Now we end with AP Comp! Great teacher and a pretty interesting way to learn about other politics in the world. It was very different from past history courses but as the year came to an end, AP Comp wasn’t completely terrible. The projects, videos, and key terms are my top 3 favorite things about the class. It was really well structured which made me less terrified about the exam in May.
“When I think of Sam Garcia there are so many positive qualities that come to mind - I so deeply appreciate his curiosity, thoughtfulness, kindness, and humor. His warm presence brightens every room he is in so it is no surprise that his peers, friends and teachers think so highly of him. It has been such a pleasure getting to know Sam as a person and a student this year, and I only wish that I had gotten to teach him sooner!” - Mr. Murray
Now that we got through all the classes, let's talk about college and PSL. It was cool applying to different colleges and just waiting for one of them to accept me. With many applications sent to every school you can name (that’s a joke don’t quote me), I got into HEOP at Clarkson University. I was super stoked that my dreams are finally going to become a reality.
Now, In Conclusion
Journalism means the world to me. And that's the reason I wanted to write about myself this time. Being in journalism not only improved my writing skills but it gave me a voice. To teach, inform and influence everyone who’s reading this. I didn’t have to hide behind my voice anymore, I made my voice hide behind me. I know deeply my voice is important and needs to be heard, journalism or not. I know that such things are true when I help a stranger with directions, or when I help friends with schoolwork, or when I write articles such as “Accessibility For Everyone”, “The Line”, “Managing Waste Management”, “The Hidden Crisis of NYC”, The Bacon Egg and Cheese article, and, Finally, “We’re from the Bronx”.
I have learned to use my voice for my community and for the betterment of our people. I encourage everyone to do just that.