Switching Schools, Switching Lives

Having courage and hope is to overcome hardships in life that challenge us to the point of desperation. When we get faced with hardships we get scared, nervous and petrified. It is hard to deal with these obstacles in life. That’s where courage and hope come in.  Being Native American, we get faced with so many obstacles in life, from being picked last in group activities to racial slurs. I was faced with all of these.

When I was in grade 5 my whole life changed. I switched schools from my reserve to a Catholic School in Lethbridge. This was the hardest obstacle I had to face. I felt so comfortable and safe going to school on my reserve because I was surrounded by kids like me who I knew and we had the same skin colour, but all that changed. I still remember the first day of class at my new school it was scary and nervous being in a room filled with kids who have a different skin colour than me. I was alone, nervous and petrified. It was gut wrenching waking up 5 o’clock in the morning and getting on the bus at 6, then getting to school at 8 when school started.  Everything was too much for me. I couldn’t handle it, until I realized that this was life. I was going to have to go through this someday. All I had was hope. With that I built the courage to make friends. Every day got easier, the more hope and courage the more motivation I had to complete the rest of my education off my reserve. I promised myself that I would finish high school off my reserve and I am in my senior year. I still have that hope and courage to finish school and keep to my promise. I will finish strong and I will continue to use that motivation that I have to exceed my expectations and achieve my goals.

By Traven Red Crow