“Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results (Albert Einstein).” No one could explain what was happening to me, going from a star student to missing weeks of school at a time was something nobody saw coming. My doctor told me I had gotten the product of 3 viruses into one, but I knew that couldn't have been the truth.

A year later I found out what the real demon was and for the first time in my life I had a choice that would make or break me. I needed to take a turn that was wholly unexpected. I had to leave the norm and pave my own way for me to have a fighting chance. My road to graduation was anything but normal, but if I had to do it over, I wouldn't change a thing.

As I entered seventh grade I thought that I would be on a linear path. I would work through Middle School, enter the high school that my brothers had graduated from and graduate as part of the class of 2013. I couldn't even begin to imagine how wrong I was. My seventh grade year had started off normal, I was a star student that was originally recommended for the gifted and talented program so the concepts in the regular classes were easy for me to grasp. I worked hard, received good grades and never had a problem with my teachers. As I entered my second semester I believed it would continue. However in that semester, something changed. I missed class on a regular basis and struggled to keep up with my mountain of make-up work. I was astonished to find that I had missed nearly two months of school by the end of the year and I had only finished my work by the skin of my teeth.

When I started my eight grade year and things continued to spiral, my parents gave me a simple sheet of paper. On it, in printed black lettering, were the symptoms of a disorder that changed my life forever. As I went down the list, I slowly and unwillingly checked off each statement, double checking each line as I went. My fear grew as I came to the bottom of the page and realized that I had every single symptom that was listed. That year I missed another month of school, becoming increasingly aware of what was causing my pain. I was diagnosed with clinical Depression near the end of my eighth grade year. However, the worst was yet to come.

Freshman year became a defining moment in my life. I struggled to meet the standards that were given and my grades went significantly lower than the near 4.0 of the previous year. My first semester ended with near a 2.5 gpa, getting straight C’s for an entire semester. In my second semester, I wasn't even that lucky. My grades changed to incompletes because of my absences and I nearly had to retake all my classes. I was up a creek without a paddle and because I wasn't able to finish my classes on time that year, I was introduced to the Homebound program.

For those who aren't familiar, Homebound is a form of alternative schooling that uses a one-on-one tutoring style curriculum. In the Homebound program I successfully finished my classes on a high note, and at the end of the summer I was given a choice that would change my life forever. Because my goal was to get a diploma through any means possible, when I was presented with an alternate way to achieve this, I jumped on it.

I stopped going to traditional school for my core classes and began working with my teacher from the previous summer semester for my math, science, history and English. I continued to take electives from my original high school. While I was doing significantly better in my core classes, my electives weren't going so well. I had to withdraw from one of the classes after continuing to miss classes and was becoming increasingly concerned about my ability to meet the elective standards. Even my core classes had begun to suffer. I was once again presented with another option that would keep me on track to my goal and hopefully give me a better chance at achieving it. After I had thought about this new angle of attack for a few days, I decided to give it a shot. I became enrolled in the community college concurrent enrollment program.

My Junior year I started working with the community college program to complete my electives; however, I began to struggle with my core classes once again. Trial and error with medication set me back weeks at a time. My performance declined further as I entered the spring semester. In the second semester I became stuck on a course and was forced to take a number of weeks off. During this time I was presented with a new option, but unlike the others, this one didn't help lead me to my goal. I was presented with the option of taking a year off and getting a job. It was a new path, but one that went in the opposite direction. I knew that if I left now, I would never come back and my goal would be all but lost. It wouldn't be until years later that I realized the reason I didn't take this path was because of my definition of quitting. To give up on my goal of a high school diploma was not an option, so I bit the bullet and kept working.

My Senior year things were looking up. I enrolled in a course that took place in a classroom setting at my community college and I was successfully showing up everyday and completing all the work required. My core classes were going equally well, also starting off with stellar attendance and reliable performance. This wouldn't last though, as once again I had a massive setback. I received a serious concussion and skull fracture. This time my attendance wasn't my main issue, but rather my performance. I kept working on my classes, but I began to fall behind with my core classes. Side effects from my concussion stopped my forward momentum. 

As I scrambled to try and keep going at an acceptable pace, I was once again given an alternative. It was suggested to me that I go for my GED and begin to move to full time at the community college the following year. This suggestion came up repeatedly and every time I shot it down; however, this time was different. I knew that I was going to be a fifth year senior and with this concussion I was concerned I might need to go for even longer. I needed to make, what I saw as my hardest decision to date. This path would make sense for most people, I would get the degree I needed, be done with high school, and have a head start in college. For me, however, this wasn't what I wanted. I was after more than the simple degree, I wanted the diploma itself. I found that the reason I didn't take this path before and the reason I didn't take it now, was because I wanted what the diploma represented, the achievement. I wanted to see that after all I'd been through, all the bedridden days and the sleepless nights, that it was all worth it. Because of this, I decided to steel myself and continue. It wasn't easy, but I'm glad I made that choice.

I found out that summer that most of the side effects I thought were from my concussion were actually from my medication. Because of this I became medication free around the first of the new year. I used my extra year to work on myself, utilizing the time away from my friends who had graduated the previous year to do a significant amount of self reflection. I developed more perseverance and gained more self respect as time went on, and became more willing to understand the problems of others. I even assisted them using my new found knowledge. I worked hard and did things that years ago I would have thought impossible, and thanks to all this I received my diploma. It was the symbol of the time I had spent fighting through my problems to achieve what even my parents had doubted at times.

As I look back I realize that all this would've never happened without the choices I had made. Through the years I worked hard to finish what I started, but as I look back I find that I was only able to do that because of my decisions to leave the norm and try to pave a new path. The decisions I made always ran against the same checkpoint, were they going to lead me to my original goal in the end or not. If they were, I would change my course and follow the new path. If they weren't I would simply cast them aside and keep working. To me quitting is giving up on your goal, finding a different path is only adapting to overcome. If I had kept going through a school system that I knew would send me to failure, I have no doubt I wouldn't be here today. If I had stayed with my electives at the high school I wouldn't have had the necessary credits to graduate and I would have come up short of my goal. If I had gone into the workforce, I would have never seen the fruits of my labor and more importantly, would have missed out on the fantastic education I received. If I had gone for my GED, I would have missed out on the numerous life lessons I received from the blood, sweat and tears I shed to become the person I am today. I learned many lessons from my time on my alternative path, but the most important one is the one that got me on it in the first place, work hard to obtain your goal, and never be afraid to pave your own road to it.