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Taj

Rhodes School , River Grove , Illinois

Life is like the game of life. It has rules and paths, and a player. As I’ve grown I’ve understood my role as the player and the rules of the game. I understand I haven’t been playing for too long but I feel I’ve gotten used to the game.

As I’ve played this game I’ve had to play many roles instead of just one. A protector, a student, kid, babysitter and so much more as the eldest child. I understand my role and the part I have to play. In the past I wasn’t the best behaved child or the best worker, but I got the work done. That's all that mattered to me. I generally would goof off, but also do the work. I continued this lifestyle with little changes to my character for years. I felt I knew everything about life. That all changed when I was nine years old. Sadly, my great grandmother passed away.

I started to think. Think about life and the path I was taking. All my life I thought I was going to stay the same. I started to listen to advice and change my character, mature, but also appreciate it. I started to appreciate life more and more, being thankful for the air I breathe. I started to take life by the horns and get on another path. I started to increase my grades and become open to new information. Instead of a leadership and demanding role I wanted to become quiet and a follower. I wanted to become a better person.

I felt that this lifestyle wasn’t for me. I saw so many opportunities that I missed, and I wanted them back. I started to see that maybe being a leader was better than a follower. I started to go back to my old ways a little. I went back to being a leader and getting on top of my stuff. I would work on my work loads, make sure to not get too many missing works and stay on good grades.

Getting into the present, As a 14 year old eighth grader. I want to end my year off with a bang. I want to work toward a path in this game that will make me proud. I want to get a 4.0 GPA, be active and healthy, and learn more coding.

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