Suspended Valedictorian

Question

Hello. I'm a 14-year old student. I was ranked 1 of 437 in my middles school. Valedictorian, quite an accomplishment no? Unfortunately as I entered high school, I've made a couple of mistakes and ended up getting suspended. Twice actually. One for fighting and the other for taking the teacher's keys. Please don't judge me. Anyways, me lifetime dream was to get into a somewhat good college. I highly doubt that now. I have A's, B's, C's. Quite an embarrassment. I was wondering if there's any possiblilty of me attending any good colleges/university nowadays. I feel so low right now asking for help on Yahoo. I don't know if I should feel this way. I can't pull myself together. (Even considered counseling) Please somebody help me. Is there any hope for me?

Answer 1

Yes, there is a lot of hope for you.  The fact that you are 14 and recognizing this as a potential problem speaks highly of you.  If you are as serious as you sound now, then focus on learning from your mistakes and doing better in the future.  If counseling would help you do this, then by all means, go.  Please do not give up on yourself.  There are a lot of opportunities for people who have made mistakes at such a young age.  

Answer 2

Yes, you still have time to do very well in school, since you are only 14 now.  I suspect that you are having some kind of psychological issues that are hurting your grades, because fighting and taking the teacher's keys don't sound like the usual behavior of a valedictorian, and your posting makes it sound as if you really don't like the person you are becoming right now.  I don't know if there is an actual cause behind it, like parents divorcing or difficulties with being a small fish in a bigger pond in high school, or whether it the changes are hormonal and/or chemical things that happen at your age, but I think that counseling is an excellent idea, and I think that your wanting to change is a very good sign that you really CAN do much better and reach your goals.

Answer 3

Learn from your mistakes, but understand that being 14 and making the transition to high school is pretty stressful in itself.  There are the hormones, for one thing...they can influence your behavior in a major way, but you are NOT helpless against them.  You'll learn to adapt, but they do make you aggressive.  Then there's the matter of passing from middle to high school and that can be plenty stressful (scary).  Add to that, expectations.  Valedictorian?  Now you have a reputation to uphold among family and friends, as if you needed any additional stress.  But entering high school puts you at the bottom again--oh, you were valedictorian in middle school?  So what?  That's the attitude of the upperclassmen, so you're also trying to prove yourself.  If all that wasn't enough, there are the expectations of family.  You have to be a credit to them and get into a "good" school.  Not just any school, a good one.  So you're a failure if you don't, right?  Been there, done that.  Counseling might not be a bad idea in order to put things into perspective.  I can see it from far beyond and looking back, but you're being plunged headlong into it.  Don't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.  You may email; I think I have that open.

In the meantime, rest assured that you're normal and haven't destroyed your life.      

Answer 4

Yes, you still have a good chance of getting into a good college or university.  Please get some counseling, you sound like you may be going through a time of depression and you really could use some help to get through it. (Don't worry, almost every teenager goes through a down period. But they don't always get the help they need!)

Then work to get your grades up.  Take honors classes.  Also do your best on all the standardized tests so that when you take the ACT or SAT, you can get high scores on them.  Do community service - it really helps when colleges look at your records.  As soon as you are old enough, get a part time job.