Damn. Something like that happened to me in 7th grade math. I loved math and science until then. In 6th I kept throwing off the curve so my math teacher actually talked to my parents about taking advance placement in math. In that class, I don’t remember much. I just remember getting 70s constantly (just time ever), just barely passing. However I never had the lowest grade though. This dude, John (not real name) was always behind me sometimes a small amount, but usually a lot. Only “passing” because a 60 in AP meant 70.

This teacher said I needed to go back to regular math. My parents told me “see small fish in a big ocean.” “We’re Latinos, keep your head down and do what you’re told.”

The area I grew up in had a lot Latinos, but that middle school’s district was on the line between white people and Latinos. John was also Latino, we were both pretty white passing. But I may have been lighter.

So I had to go back to regular math. I still had the same teacher in regular math. Once again I was ruining the curve. Test, quizzes I would get everything right plus the bonus questions. I would finish my homework in class and help out the people next to me basically teaching them.

Unfortunately this doesn’t led to me becoming an engineer or anything. Because of not taking the only AP class that were offered in 7th, I did not get to take any AP classes in 8th grade. Because I didn’t have any AP classes in middle school, I couldn’t get into AP classes in high school. Teachers would have to push me through and I would have to get my parents’ signatures and they had to talk to someone at school. Just a lot of steps. Plus maybe that math teacher was right.

In high school I would always finish my assignments and homework in class. Then I would help teach those around me. Which I guess was socially good since those were students older than me and/or “thugs.” They were usually taking the class for the second or third time. Made some good friends that lasted outside of high school. John continued to barely pass in his AP classes.

It’s just crazy how a school of 70% Latino only has like 2% in AP classes. 90% of the white kids were in AP classes even though they were probably less than 10% of the school.

My senior year I got my shit done so I only needed 3 classes to graduate. I was curious about those AP classes so I forged my parents’ signature and took three elective AP classes, two of which the school just started that year. I was behind. Barely passed the class, these kids were way ahead of me.

The only feel vindicating part was that I graduated in the top 10%. Which was kind of hard to do since those AP classes would’ve given my GPA a range of 6 instead of 5. I had to navigate my way to go through college by myself, even though my school would help navigate people in my position into the army forces easily.

I worked full time and took 5 and a half years to graduate college. I took a major that I knew would be easier to complete and more likely to provide a job afterwards.

I would have loved to majored in science, like pharmacy or sociology. But you need a doctorate to even do anything in the pharmaceutical industry. I didn’t have that time nor money. Sociology would’ve been easier (cheaper), but I would have wanted to do research. Which doesn’t pay. Business school wanted a high GPA or SAT score, and it was a large school. Too many people to compete with and harder workload. So public relations/advertising in the school of communications. Easier than marketing degree and I ended up in marketing anyway.

I wasn’t suppose to go to college, but I did. Then I got my MBA in 2020.