Clayton Armstead
Professor Papadakis
ENG 0920
Academic Narrative
01 February 2013
“My Educated Life”

As I walked through the doors the smell of cookies and urinal cakes filled my nostrils. A sweet elderly woman who looked rather homely muttered, “Welcome to Sycamore Grove”. I shot her my nervous smile and walked into the classroom. I had no idea what to expect. The past five years I had sat at home and played all day. I didn't think this kindergarten business would be much different, but I was in for great surprise. The first day was spent meeting other children that were going to share this and many other firsts with me. As the school year went on I did not adapt to the change, from being home all day to then starting school, very well. I heard my name called more often than any other child, I felt like every time I turned around it was “Clayton don’t do that, and Clayton please be quiet”. Eventually I even had the pleasure of getting my desk moved right next to my teacher because I could not behave. I finally was able to learn the essentials I needed to move on to the first grade. I was very happy with the location of my desk once I started first grade. My teacher, Mrs. Chavez, smelt so lovely that I couldn't help but focus on her teaching. She taught so well and I enjoyed the new knowledge. I learned from her that school could be more than classwork; it was also about friendship and camaraderie. I didn't know that three years later her influence would help me transition smoothly from school in California to Ohio at the start of sixth grade. At first I was home-schooled but my mother soon realized that I needed more structured discipline to succeed academically. She enrolled me in Village Christian Private School. I liked the school but I was at that age that I was more interested in making friends and being “cool” than actually learning. I mean who needs to study when you can chat and have fun with your friends all day every day. I did what I needed to get by with as little effort as possible. I didn't know then that my seventh grade year would hold a large part of my destiny, my wife. The first time I saw Kaitlyn she was wearing a tight black shirt, blue jeans, and black pattern leather stilettos. I actually laughed a bit at her outfit choice, especially because she was at school, but nonetheless I thought she was beautiful. Her shiny red hair, intoxicating eyes, and vivacious womanly figure distracted my thoughts both at school and at home. I was too nervous to speak to her most of the time, but when I did gather up the courage I usually made remarks about how neat it was that we shared the same exact birthday. Whenever I learned we had something in common I would suggest that It must be an “August first thing”. She would kindly laugh in agreement. Being that we were only twelve years old I didn't ask her out or anything of the sort, besides I think that I would have been way too nervous to actually talk to a girl that beautiful. The middle of eighth grade Kaitlyn moved to a different school and I figured I would never see her again. Freshman year I started taking a high interest in sports, specifically basketball. My brother played and I wanted to outshine, and outperform him in every way possible. The competition between the two of us is what motivated me to really hone and perfect my game. I would eat, sleep, and breathe basketball. My practice and determination paid off. I got scouted by Miami Valley Christian Academy, a division one high school, and was offered a scholarship for my junior and senior year; being that the school was way too expensive for my family to pay for. I graciously accepted the scholarship. I was thrilled to start school at Miami Valley but I was not prepared for the change in curriculum. At Village I was passed in most of my classes just so that I could play basketball. I had been focusing more on my love for basketball than my academics, and it definitely showed. I was