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Don’t Underestimate This School
by
Ken Cheng
12th Grade,
Developing Virtue Secondary Boys School
Never underestimate a school by just judging it by looking at the outside and the people in it. Why shouldn’t we judge a school by this outlook? It is because the school has a lot of reasons that it may look and be a certain way. My mom told me about this Buddhist school and said that this school is pretty good, so we came for a visit. I saw peacocks but there weren’t any cars or dogs, and I underestimated this Buddhist school. I thought, “Oh! This school isn’t like other schools because it doesn’t have this or it doesn’t have that.” I saw teachers who were monks, elderly people, and people wearing ragged clothes, so I thought the school was really bad. I also thought that they couldn’t educate me and discipline me in a way that could change my life. I kept my thoughts to myself, but I knew the public school environment could make my character even worse. As a result, I knew that I had to change to another school environment.
Everything seemed normal in my public school. It wasn’t that great or that bad, but I was going nowhere and not learning anything. I was weak in reading, writing, and math; actually, I was weak in everything. I couldn’t do anything with all the distractions and commotion around me. My focus and concentration were being taken over by television, computers, friends, and other meaningless activities. I wanted to have a strong education that would enable me to go to college but I knew at the rate I was going, I wasn’t ready.
When I came to this Buddhist school, it changed my entire life. My perspectives of people and situations changed a lot. I learned to treat and respect everyone equally and not judge them from the outside.
From the time I came, I struggled to fit in until I was in the eleventh grade. I finally found out that this was the best place to learn respect, to shape my character, and to watch where I stepped (there might be some peacock doodoo).
Anyway, I finally found an environment where I could focus on my studies and people that I could relate to. Talking and hanging out with friends made me learn more about their life and why they were in this school. I would like to thank the people who taught me respect and the friends that shaped my character.
Most of all, I would like to thank my mother because she sent me here, just as she did with my second older brother. If it weren’t for her, I would be struggling like crazy. If it wasn’t for the sake of making my mother happy and my goal to change my life, I wouldn’t be here. Thank you, mother!