Square Girls, Cool Teachers & Community – Three Things That Will Keep Me in School This Time

Jacob Jimenez dropped back into school.

Today was my first day of school, kind of.

It's been so long since I've been in school that it feels new to me. The last time I was in school was sophomore year and I didn't go because I thought the teachers didn't like me. They treated me different than other students. I never went to class, I was mostly hanging out with my friends cutting school, smoking, going downtown and getting myself into anything besides school.

When I was in kindergarten I never wanted to be anywhere but around my mom. I loved my mom too much to be in school. I thought she could do anything in the world for me.

Growing up, when I got in trouble, my mom came to the school and fought for me every time. I thought that my mom would come all the time to save me, so sometimes when I was young, I got in trouble just to see her.

But a few years ago, my mom passed away and I just felt like there wasn’t anyone there to fight for me like she did. Her passing was a huge reason I stopped going to school plus the teachers that made me feel uncomfortable. Some days I just went to my house, so I didn't have to hear or see the teachers, I could avoid them completely. I would just hang out alone.

Community Support

When I stopped going to school, my mother had passed away. Other kids might have reacted differently, but all I really wanted to do was run away and never return. Eventually though, I came to this question: what will that solve? I think that I handled that situation more mature than other kids who would've probably gone crazy. So after talking to a bunch of the guys at De-Bug, I decided to enroll in school two years after I dropped out.

Today, when I went back to school, I felt a little weird because once I sat in each of the classes, I could feel all of the kids looking at me funny. It felt like I didn't belong.

At lunch, I thought that I wasn't going to meet anyone or know anyone. I felt out of place at first, but then I saw one of my friends that I've known since I was in sixth grade, and that put me at ease.

Teachers

One of my teacher’s is cool. Her name is Mrs. J. I have a tattoo on my hand and she made me put a band-aid over it.

When she told me I’d have to hide my tattoo, that part of my first day sucked, but I knew it was in my best interest. I think sometimes when kids don't feel wanted in a class, it makes them not want to go.

Square Girls

I saw one of my ex-girlfriends from when I was in the 8th grade. Our relationship was fine, but she acted like a little kid, so I broke up with her. I guess I broke her heart and her dad didn't like that one bit. I'm not sure if he still wants to beat me up, but seeing her made me think about relationships. Sometimes I need a girlfriend to help me with school because if you think about it, a girlfriend, a square "go to every class" nerdy girlfriend, will push me. She'll probably make me want to go to school just to see her and help me get to class early.

I'd like to thank De-Bug and my friend Daniel for helping me to a fresh start at school and at life. I know my mom would be very happy for me because I changed. For those that know me, they know that I hated school for the longest time, so going back to school is a big deal. I know my mom would say, "Thank you for helping my son, I thank you a lot for doing that for me, I'm glad my son found a place where he can go and feel good about himself.”

I think about my future more often now that I feel I have support and am back in school. I want to open my own business, maybe a restaurant because my mother loved to cook. I want to name it “Mays” after my mother. I want to do something my mother taught me, which was cooking, and take it to another level. Public high school might not teach me culinary arts, but I know with the support I can continue to go to school, and be the person my mom would want me to be.