Transfering to a new school



I live in Majuro, Marshall Islands. When I was a kid, my parents wanted me to go to school at Assumption. So when I was old enough to go to school, my parents took me there. When I graduated from the 8^th grade, my parents wanted me to go to school at Marshall Islands High School, I did not want to. I told them that all my friends since I was a kid were at Assumption, and the teachers were very friendly and kind to their students. I also told them that I would promise to do my best until I graduated. Because I had a lot of reasons, my parents decided to let me stay at Assumption. My freshmen year was great. I passed all my class and was able to go to grade ten. I went to grade ten and was doing great. My parents were very proud of me but, they were still struggling with the tuition. The cost of tuition was $90.00 including the lunch fee. I continued to study hard in my sophomore year and passed all my classes. It was summer and I was getting ready for my junior year.



Marshall Islands High School



Then one day, I went out to hang out with my classmates. When I got back home, my parents were shouting at each other and the next thing I knew my dad was gone, but before he left he came and we had a little talk. He told me to study hard and not to worry. He said that he will come see me every day after school. Then he left. I was old enough to understand what had just happened. What I did not understand was the reason why. I went inside and I asked mom what happened and she told me to sit down while she wiped her tears away. I sat down and she told me everything. I did not know what to do but just cried out loud. Then I looked up and asked my mom, “am I the reason why, or is it my tuition?” She looked at me and said, “no it is not your fault; things like this happen when people are just stressed out and don’t know what to do.” So it was just me and my mom all summer. Summer ended and I decided to go to school at Marshall Islands High School. I learned that my parents were really struggling because they could not afford the tuition. My mom wanted me stay at Assumption but I was too selfish to know the reason why they wanted me to go to school at Marshall Islands High School in the first place.  I could not think of a better way to help my parents pay for my tuition but to transfer to a non-private school.

On my first day at Marshall Islands High School I was 15 minutes late.  When students are late, they are punished. The punishments are picking up trash on the campus in the morning or staying after school to clean the classroom. I was late not just on my first day but every day. I had two friends and they were so kind to me. They bought me lunch. There students had to pay for their own lunches. So before I went to school, I needed to have at least $2.50 every day. But what I hated the most was asking money from my mom. I can still see that she was struggling from having to pay my tuition at Assumption. Sometimes I asked for only one dollar and I used it for a taxi in the morning, and after school I would walk home. I promised myself that no matter how hard things turned out, I have to graduate from high school. I had a lot of obstacles on my path at Marshall Islands High School, but I was able to endure them all and graduate.