I Want to Join the Navy

My dream is to join the Navy, but I need to get my GED. My Grandmother is extremely supportive of me; she always stands up for me when some of my family nay-says. My Grandfather knows this is all I want to do, so he supports me as well. As for everyone else, family and friends alike, the negativity some of them bring fueled me to prove them wrong.

I never really enjoyed school after the second grade, when I moved from Colorado to Texas. I didn’t like very many people and hated most of my teachers. My math grades began to go downhill as the years passed. This was largely due to a lack of help. If you did ask for help, it seemed as if you were putting them out. Finally in 9th grade, I stopped caring about school. The first reason I did was because I had an English teacher that often lost most of my work (three of which were test grades). I complained but ZERO was done. I thought, what’s the point of all this hard work if it’s for literally nothing?

The second reason was the lack of help. In athletics, I was told help would be given to pass my classes yet every time I asked I never received the help I needed. That year, I left my public high school and went to an online virtual academy where the first year I got lazy and never really did anything. Then the next year my online classes were screwed up so I couldn’t do the work for literally months. I called numerous times but they always said, “we’re getting to it.” After it was fixed I was about 3 months behind on work. I just wasn’t motivated to do it, partly because I was promised a chance for my GED, and at that point I so desperately wanted it, so I could pursue my dream faster. So I was kicked out that December for not doing my work.

While I was somewhat happy I now had my chance, I was at the same time disappointed. I never expected to turn out this way. A high school drop out. But regardless, I knew what I wanted, and had to do. While I waited to sign up, my mom was extremely negative to me about it. She always told me I wasn’t going to be able to do it. That if I failed in school, how was I to do this? Many others said this also, but honestly, I used it as motivation. So, about a month later my parents took me up to my local community college to register for GED classes. When I finally began taking classes, I worked harder than I had ever worked at anything. My notes on math were about the size of a small book. I wrote down every detail and soaked up all the information. When the classes finished, I had an average of high 90′s in every subject I studied. Something I never thought I could do again. I hadn’t had a 90 in math since like 3rd grade. I was extremely confident from that point the GED was mine.

Finally, four days ago from today, the two days of testing came and I got naturally nervous. I had an idea of what to expect but I was still a bit worried it would be something completely different from the GED practice tests I took in my GED class. Luckily for the most part it wasn’t. The first day I took social studies, science, and reading. Even though I haven’t got my scores back, I know I crushed reading and science. They were incredibly easy to me. Social studies was the same way, except I did run very close to the time limit on it. The questions were for the most part extremely long and I had to speed read most of them. Regardless, I know I passed. The next day I took math and writing. But, before I actually went down to take those two tests, I decided to take a practice math test on a program that I obtained during my GED classes. When I took it, I totally bombed it. I was extremely nervous at that point. Here I was, a day of testing, and I just failed a GED practice test.

So, on the way to the college I went over my notes one last time. While I was very nervous, I still had some confidence. When I began taking the test, I realized my worst fears had vanished. I blew though the test no problem. It was nothing like the practice test. I was extremely relieved. When I took the writing, I completely crushed it as well. I breezed through the questions and put my all into the essay. Reading and writing have always come extremely easy to me, so it was no problem. Finally I was done. I couldn’t believe it. And though I still haven’t gotten my results back like I said, I have an extreme confidence that I not only passed the test, but I destroyed it. If you’re reading this and you’re considering taking the test, quit considering and just do it. Trust me, it’s well worth it. Not only does it open up your options, but it will build your confidence to an unspeakable level. Take it from me. If you put time and effort in to studying for the test, you will pass. I hope you’ve enjoyed my story, and I hope it motivates you to pursue yours. HOOAH!!!