.jpg)
VIEWPOINT FROM A TEXAS CHALLENGE ACADEMY CADET
Nobody has ever said life is easy, and a lot of decisions aren’t easy either. That’s exactly how I felt about attending Texas ChalleNGe Academy. When the idea had first been presented to me, I didn’t react to the best. As a matter of fact, I detested the idea. I wanted the familiarity of home. But at home the situation I was in wasn’t the best.
I went to two different high schools in Dallas. One was in a richer section of Dallas, outside my neighborhood. It was a great opportunity for an education, but students judged me on the neighborhood I came from. I was judged not on myself but on what people assumed people in my neighborhood were like. As time went on, it took a toll on me.
I began to give up on myself and avoided those that wanted to guide and help me. I surrounded myself with the wrong crowd. What was supposed to be my second chance felt like a last resort. It was when the idea of TCA was presented to me a second time, that I realized I wanted better for my life. I wanted out of my environment, and I wanted to prove that where I came from doesn’t define me.
The crazy part of all of this is that I never was surer of anything in my life, and now that I am here, I’ve found out more about myself and my own capabilities than I knew. I came here unsure of whether I could ever find the confidence to leave my place of struggle. Well let me tell you, when you are one of the first people to earn the green cord and lead others, it changes the way you think.
I have learned that change doesn’t come in one day. Everything I accomplished while at TCA I earned by putting in 100 percent effort and having confidence. I plan to take that back when I go home. The stereotypes have been broken.
