Good afternoon family, friends and staff, I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming out and celebrating this important day. This year has been an awesome year. We have had some ups and downs, but we always managed to get back on track. My journey at TCS began four years ago when my former sponsor, Ms. Sandy, made a wrong turn and read a sign that said “The Community School an academic and mentoring high school.” I remember Ms. Sandy telling me that TCS was a private school. She had me thinking I was going to a fancy private school; turned out I was wrong. When I first saw the school and met with Mr. Tom, I knew I wanted to attend TCS. I was so ready for a change in my life. You see in public school I was always a problem child. I chose to hang with the so called popular kids. Hanging with the popular kids only caused me to be in a lot of trouble. I was always fighting or being in a lot of drama. It seemed like my mother was up the school every single day. I finally realized at the end it wasn't hurting anyone but myself. When I graduated 8th grade I was happy, but when I actually thought about it I don’t know how they passed me. I didn’t think I was ready for high school, and let me tell you I wasn’t. My first year at TCS was really hard for me. I didn’t know how...
Hi everyone. It's been a long, long, looooong time coming. You see, I started out my high school career in a Christian school called Greater Grace. Tiny school (Well its giant compared to this one, but it's small by the standards of other schools) When circumstances changed, I had to leave that school and gave homeschooling a try. During my time as a homeschool student, the work habits I had developed had seemed to basically disappear. I was not motivated at all to do the work, and just ended up sitting at home playing Xbox and eating Doritos. After the end of what was supposed to be my freshman year, I wasn't going to move on to be a sophomore. Instead of sticking with what wasn’t working, my mom told me she heard of a school that would allow me to regain the year I lost. I was told about the three-year program the school offered, and I was totally ready to get that year I lost back. Over the course of my years at the Community School, I’ve learned a lot, not just academically, but about myself as an individual. I’ve gained the confidence to do things I never thought I’d be able to do. I never thought I would travel anywhere outside the U.S., but now I’m gonna be traveling to Africa with my church. A thing I’ve only dreamed of. Thank you Mr. Tom for everything you’ve done for me at the school. Thank you for being a good teacher and role model for me...
For me to talk about this day, I need to go back to 2014 - one of the toughest years for me. That was the first year in one of the most important transitions in my life. I was to be done with being a child and to start laying down the foundation for the rest of my life. Through sheer luck, I made it into Baltimore City College, and I thought I would be good from there on. I was extremely, extremely wrong. Firstly, I had a deep hatred for the place. I showed up two days late and was already out of the “loop” of making friends, and those who I did know from middle school acted as if I was a stranger. I already had issues at home financially - threats of eviction, little food in the house, many other unforeseeable expenses, and I felt I didn’t need another stressor in my life. I dropped out. For almost a year, my only two good friends were Bud Light and my computer. Then, after months of being pushed to go back to school, I found TCS, or more so, TCS found me. Honestly, when I first started at TCS, I was awful. I could barely participate in class because I was so tired. I barely did any of my homework and, now that I think about it, I probably shouldn’t have lasted more than a month, but I was spared. Mr. Thomas Culotta, a man I resented at the time for making me work so hard, saw something in...
Wow, what a journey this has been! Four years ago, when I came to The Community School, I never imagined how much it would change my life. Being a public school student up to that point, I never really enjoyed school; it always seemed to be a drag. By the time high school came around, I really only had one choice, Mervo. It only took me three months to realize that I was going to either quit school or start hanging around the wrong crowd. My parents saw how unhappy I was, and neither of them could stand it. I mean we were about to pack our stuff up and leave the city. My mom started searching, and I mean searching, when she came across The Community School. She told me that it was a small school, but I found out later during my interview just how small the school really was. We talked some more about the school and I had an interview with Mr. Tom. As Mr. Tom was talking about the school, I took a deep breath and just thought to myself, “This is for me.” I knew before the interview was even over that TCS was the next chapter in my life. Within the first couple months I started exceeding my own expectations. I saw myself growing in ways I never imagined, I began to understand what was going on in the world and having conversations with family about current events. I developed better social skills, I even felt better about speaking in front of...
Good Afternoon everyone, I hope you are having a good time so far. I was not a good student before I came to this school. My grades were horrible - I had D’s and C’s, and rarely were there A’s or B’s. Going to school was boring and a waste of time in my mind back then. I would fake being sick or pretend to get hurt so one of my family members would come and pick me up. My attendance was not the best and I rarely tried to do school work and homework. I have come a long way since then. In this school, I have never missed a single day. That is a huge first for me. My grades have gone from D’s and C’s to B’s. When I first started this school, I had to go back to addition because of my earlier school experiences. Now, I have almost completed the Integrated Math book. Every year that I have been here, I have said that this is the best year I have ever done academically. I’m pretty sure this is, in part, because I actually want to do the work. I love being in this school and I can’t imagine being anywhere else. My change, since I have been a student of this school, has been dramatically for the better. The Community School is an academic and mentoring high school. The mentoring part of the school has impacted me as much as the academics have. Because of this school, I am a better person. I...
That’s That Nobody Now son, I want you to look here, right here, right into my eyes. You see that? You know what that is? Yellow. That’s that someone right there, you know? It might even be that nobody, you get? Nah, you’re too stupid to understand. Look here, I was that nobody that you hear about. Y’know son, I was that man always on that juice, you feel? Cheap stuff. Alright stuff. Need a 6 pack to live stuff. Ain’t talkin’ that swole body neither, you know? I got that old body. The fat body, the settling for anybody type body. Yeah, sitting in it. Rolling in it, that nobody. You know, the others that sat ‘round here, you know what now? Up and vanished. They crept on out and became someone, left me to be nobody. That momma you got, that’s nobody. That father you got, son, that’s nobody. Always just shooting to get to someone, but never somebody. That’s what I want, never will get it, but that’s it right there. Somebody who leaves out. Somebody who’s going out, doing it up, doing it up large. Sitting in it, rolling in it, somebody. Somebody who somebody cares about. Somebody who someone looks up to. Somebody that, that nobody envies. That’s the body I want, but I’m just stuck. Me and my only two friends, Jaundéce and Colt, and we all wearin’ Blue Ribbons. No, that’s not a blue ribbon you want, son. That’s that nobody blue ribbon. That’s all it will ever be,...
It's Not Easy It's not easy being in a house with a lot of brothers and sisters, having to deal with all the confusion that goes with it. It's not easy being eighteen still having to share a bed with your little sisters and one who has a bladder problem. Sometimes I even have to share a bed with my seven year old niece. But I won't complain. It's not easy having to live in a household with parents who share fake love with each other. It's not easy coming home from school and not having a hot meal on the dinner table, or having to go to bed with an empty stomach and waking up the next day having to go to school. But me, I still won't complain. It's not easy having to wake up five o'clock in the morning having to catch two buses to school. It's not easy going home and having to manage school work while trying to clean up everything your mother asks you to clean up. But yet, I won’t complain. See me I still manage to get through it all. Even if it means having to go around my aunt’s house on the days she has to work and getting a ride to school from her. I also know when I go around my aunts house I will always have a hot meal every night and a bed I can sleep in alone. Even though its tough, I manage to get through it all by having different people I...
Goodnight Family Oh papa, how hard you worked today. You woke up early to take me and my little brother to school. I know I can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but at the end of the day things work out. Papa, don't stress yourself out too much and get a good night's rest. Goodnight papa Oh mama, you have also worked very hard today. You had to run so many errands. Driving back and forth and you never have some relaxing time. Mama I don't want you to get stressed out by the things my brother and I do. Sweet dreams mama Oh brother, you might not understand what I'm saying but listen up, okay? How was school? Oh really, how wonderful! Now little brother let me tell you something about school. It starts out with fun and games but when you grow up, you won't even have time for that. Take advantage of being a little kid because when you get older you will miss those carefree days. Now it's time to go to sleep. Night night little brother Hi friends, you guys are the ones who know me the best. I don't know I what would do without you guys. I love spending time with you after school on Fridays. You make me smile when I feel down. Goodnight friends Ahh Mexico, the place that holds my favorite memories. The place where I spent most of my childhood. The place where my family is. Wish I could be there in person to say goodnight and to tuck all my...
Rich Kid Christmas It’s morning, oh yea it’s my big day. It's time for more stacks. Oh yea those stacks that you look at and you just wanna cry. Not the sad cry, but the cry that just makes you so happy. I’m talking about the green. Forget the tree. I’m talking about that real pretty green, with the face on it...