My Memoir
Content
Branham 1
James Branham Jessica Jacobs RHET 1311 9/05/13 I began my ninth grade year and never cared about school. I was just like a car frame someone had bought to fix up but just left out to rust. I would enter the class and either talked to friends or slept. I was always bullied so I hated going to school, and I even skipped for a week. I never took school seriously so I just ignored my work and did my own thing. My GPA was so low that it would permanently hinder my score and I dug myself a hole so deep that it would take a miracle to get out, but I didn’t care. I had one class more grueling than all the rest and that was history, but there was one particular day in there that would defiantly change my life. I entered the most sleep-inducing class in the entire universe I staggered to my desk. This was what I referred to as my designated nap time. Every time I had this class I had no motivation to learn. The instructor was as dry and windy as the sandy deserts of the Mojave. His lectures droned on and on and I remember thinking to myself “I thought this kind of torture was only for college students.” A book causing the desk to shake violently awoke me for my dreamless sleep only to stare up at a hulking man standing above me. “You know Mr. Branham; if you don’t take your school life seriously you will end up digging ditches for the rest of your life. You will amount to nothing and leave no mark on society, and you will wish you had listened in class instead of sleeping,” said Mr. Montgomery.
Branham 2
I just stared back with a weak and hazy smile showing that I acknowledged his attempt to “leave no child behind”, as the school board had so plainly stated to every person on the planet, so he could continue on with his discussion to the class about the exciting world of maps. As the bell rang I grabbed my things and rushed to leave this museum and the fossil that taught it, but I was stopped short. Mr. Montgomery sat me down and leaned in close. I could smell the age of dinosaurs all over him that put nursing homes to shame. He said “I know you don’t think school isn’t important and that you have to be here because the law says so, but think of it this way. One day after you drop out, because right now that’s where you are headed, you will look for a job. Once you realize that the only way you can make money is hard physical labor you will become a worthless peon. You will be just another ant under the boot of the world and its economy and you will amount to nothing.” I was shocked at these words and frightened by the bluntness he had used. No one had ever spoken to me that way before. It seemed like teachers never wanted to deal with me so they just let me be. These words milled around in my head for days and I wondered if what he had said was true. After about two weeks, I started to stay awake in class. I realized I had no clue what was going on in class so I had to stay after school and study material that has already been covered. I began to study and I realized that I had a lot of work to do and it wasn’t going to be easy. I studied a lot and struggled to start pulling myself out of my hole. It was one of my hardest experiences but I managed to pass the ninth grade. I had decided that I will work myself till I make it to college. Mr. Montgomery’s words got to me and I wanted to prove to him I could make something out of myself.
Branham 3
As the tenth grade started, I had my mind set on studying my butt of so I could make my grades look impressive and so my GPA would help me get into college. What I didn’t realize was that most of tenth grade requires you to have the knowledge of what you learned in the ninth grade. I had barely made it through ninth grade so I knew that tenth grade would be harder than I had originally thought. I began to take tutoring and extra credit opportunities to help further what I knew. I worked hard and I managed to make it through the first semester but my grades weren’t where I wanted them. I made a promise to myself that I would raise my grades no matter what. My second semester I worked harder than I could ever imagined I could have done. I started to pass my tests and turned in my work early. I learned more than most students because I studied extra work and wrote my papers more detailed so I could raise my grades. I wrote a paper about a book we read in class and one of my resources was a detailed document about the different theories about what the author meant by what he said and the teacher gave me high praises. This was a huge stepping stone for me because it meant that my hard work was paying off. I received my report card and I was so happy to see my grades had increased exponentially. I was on my way to keeping my promise. My eleventh and twelfth grade years were at a different school, but I kept trying to learn more and work hard. I worked on my math and took AP classes to help me learn more. They were hard and sometimes I would have to research other sources to solve problems that weren’t in the book, but I made it through. I kept up my grades both years and raised my GPA by two times as much from what it was in the ninth grade. I worked so hard that most people who need help in school still come to me for help. I know a lot when it comes to math and science and I had the top grade in English over all in the entire senior class. During my twelfth grade year I had so many extra credits I could take a work program and have half a school day instead of a
Branham 4
whole one. I raised my GPA up so much I was number twelve in my entire senior class of about two hundred students. I started to apply for scholarships, but it was hard to find great ones because I only scored a twenty four on my ACT so I didn’t qualify for a lot. I finally found one that was perfect for me to improve myself and that was the Chancellor’s Leadership Core scholarship. It helped me finish what I needed so that I wouldn’t have to pay for college. During graduation day I was proud to wear my scholarship recipient medal and my chords as I walked across that stage. I had finally completed that car and was ready to drive on to college. I was accepted to UALR and was ready to take on the next chapter in my life. During the summer I went back to visit Mr. Montgomery to show him my accomplishments. As I walked onto campus I couldn’t help but to smile. I was so proud of my accomplishment from being a delinquent kid who had no care for school to making something out of my life. I knocked on his door and as he walked out He towered over me like a skyscraper. He was one of the only people who have been taller than me at the school. He still smelled like the inside of a museum, but at that moment it didn’t bother me because I was on a mission to prove to him I was worth something. I could tell he was surprised to see me because it had been two years since I had last been at the school. “What on earth are you doing here?” He looked at me for a minute and realized something was defiantly different about me. I said “Well it has been a long time and a rough ride but I finally made something of myself. I took those words you said to me so long ago and I went and bettered myself so that they could never come true.”
Branham 5
He kind of stood there for a second and I reached out to shake his hand. He just stood there and winced away. He had no clue what I was doing and I could tell he was a little apprehensive because he didn’t remember what he had said. So we sat and talked and I told him about what I had done and by the end I could tell he was proud of me. He said “I’m so glad that I could influence at least one student to become more than he had ever imagined” and at that moment he held out his hand to shake. The reason I worked so hard might sound simple and worthless, but to me it was all I needed. All I ever wanted to do was earn his approval. This was a man who never took things lightly and hardly ever smiled. He was committed to his job and had helped build the school and its reputation. He was a very great man and a wonderful teacher and I had achieved enough for him to recognize my achievement and congratulate me for it. I had overcome my old ways to become the well educated young man I am today and I owe it all to the one man who spoke up above all others.
James Branham Jessica Jacobs RHET 1311 9/05/13 I began my ninth grade year and never cared about school. I was just like a car frame someone had bought to fix up but just left out to rust. I would enter the class and either talked to friends or slept. I was always bullied so I hated going to school, and I even skipped for a week. I never took school seriously so I just ignored my work and did my own thing. My GPA was so low that it would permanently hinder my score and I dug myself a hole so deep that it would take a miracle to get out, but I didn’t care. I had one class more grueling than all the rest and that was history, but there was one particular day in there that would defiantly change my life. I entered the most sleep-inducing class in the entire universe I staggered to my desk. This was what I referred to as my designated nap time. Every time I had this class I had no motivation to learn. The instructor was as dry and windy as the sandy deserts of the Mojave. His lectures droned on and on and I remember thinking to myself “I thought this kind of torture was only for college students.” A book causing the desk to shake violently awoke me for my dreamless sleep only to stare up at a hulking man standing above me. “You know Mr. Branham; if you don’t take your school life seriously you will end up digging ditches for the rest of your life. You will amount to nothing and leave no mark on society, and you will wish you had listened in class instead of sleeping,” said Mr. Montgomery.
Branham 2
I just stared back with a weak and hazy smile showing that I acknowledged his attempt to “leave no child behind”, as the school board had so plainly stated to every person on the planet, so he could continue on with his discussion to the class about the exciting world of maps. As the bell rang I grabbed my things and rushed to leave this museum and the fossil that taught it, but I was stopped short. Mr. Montgomery sat me down and leaned in close. I could smell the age of dinosaurs all over him that put nursing homes to shame. He said “I know you don’t think school isn’t important and that you have to be here because the law says so, but think of it this way. One day after you drop out, because right now that’s where you are headed, you will look for a job. Once you realize that the only way you can make money is hard physical labor you will become a worthless peon. You will be just another ant under the boot of the world and its economy and you will amount to nothing.” I was shocked at these words and frightened by the bluntness he had used. No one had ever spoken to me that way before. It seemed like teachers never wanted to deal with me so they just let me be. These words milled around in my head for days and I wondered if what he had said was true. After about two weeks, I started to stay awake in class. I realized I had no clue what was going on in class so I had to stay after school and study material that has already been covered. I began to study and I realized that I had a lot of work to do and it wasn’t going to be easy. I studied a lot and struggled to start pulling myself out of my hole. It was one of my hardest experiences but I managed to pass the ninth grade. I had decided that I will work myself till I make it to college. Mr. Montgomery’s words got to me and I wanted to prove to him I could make something out of myself.
Branham 3
As the tenth grade started, I had my mind set on studying my butt of so I could make my grades look impressive and so my GPA would help me get into college. What I didn’t realize was that most of tenth grade requires you to have the knowledge of what you learned in the ninth grade. I had barely made it through ninth grade so I knew that tenth grade would be harder than I had originally thought. I began to take tutoring and extra credit opportunities to help further what I knew. I worked hard and I managed to make it through the first semester but my grades weren’t where I wanted them. I made a promise to myself that I would raise my grades no matter what. My second semester I worked harder than I could ever imagined I could have done. I started to pass my tests and turned in my work early. I learned more than most students because I studied extra work and wrote my papers more detailed so I could raise my grades. I wrote a paper about a book we read in class and one of my resources was a detailed document about the different theories about what the author meant by what he said and the teacher gave me high praises. This was a huge stepping stone for me because it meant that my hard work was paying off. I received my report card and I was so happy to see my grades had increased exponentially. I was on my way to keeping my promise. My eleventh and twelfth grade years were at a different school, but I kept trying to learn more and work hard. I worked on my math and took AP classes to help me learn more. They were hard and sometimes I would have to research other sources to solve problems that weren’t in the book, but I made it through. I kept up my grades both years and raised my GPA by two times as much from what it was in the ninth grade. I worked so hard that most people who need help in school still come to me for help. I know a lot when it comes to math and science and I had the top grade in English over all in the entire senior class. During my twelfth grade year I had so many extra credits I could take a work program and have half a school day instead of a
Branham 4
whole one. I raised my GPA up so much I was number twelve in my entire senior class of about two hundred students. I started to apply for scholarships, but it was hard to find great ones because I only scored a twenty four on my ACT so I didn’t qualify for a lot. I finally found one that was perfect for me to improve myself and that was the Chancellor’s Leadership Core scholarship. It helped me finish what I needed so that I wouldn’t have to pay for college. During graduation day I was proud to wear my scholarship recipient medal and my chords as I walked across that stage. I had finally completed that car and was ready to drive on to college. I was accepted to UALR and was ready to take on the next chapter in my life. During the summer I went back to visit Mr. Montgomery to show him my accomplishments. As I walked onto campus I couldn’t help but to smile. I was so proud of my accomplishment from being a delinquent kid who had no care for school to making something out of my life. I knocked on his door and as he walked out He towered over me like a skyscraper. He was one of the only people who have been taller than me at the school. He still smelled like the inside of a museum, but at that moment it didn’t bother me because I was on a mission to prove to him I was worth something. I could tell he was surprised to see me because it had been two years since I had last been at the school. “What on earth are you doing here?” He looked at me for a minute and realized something was defiantly different about me. I said “Well it has been a long time and a rough ride but I finally made something of myself. I took those words you said to me so long ago and I went and bettered myself so that they could never come true.”
Branham 5
He kind of stood there for a second and I reached out to shake his hand. He just stood there and winced away. He had no clue what I was doing and I could tell he was a little apprehensive because he didn’t remember what he had said. So we sat and talked and I told him about what I had done and by the end I could tell he was proud of me. He said “I’m so glad that I could influence at least one student to become more than he had ever imagined” and at that moment he held out his hand to shake. The reason I worked so hard might sound simple and worthless, but to me it was all I needed. All I ever wanted to do was earn his approval. This was a man who never took things lightly and hardly ever smiled. He was committed to his job and had helped build the school and its reputation. He was a very great man and a wonderful teacher and I had achieved enough for him to recognize my achievement and congratulate me for it. I had overcome my old ways to become the well educated young man I am today and I owe it all to the one man who spoke up above all others.
