The best thing that I ever did for myself was skip nine days of school in a row in the eighth grade. Actually the benedictions did not arise so much from the truancy as from the apprehension. This does not mean that I had be an axe murderer for the previous sections of my life, but rather that an unusual circumstance led to a great improvement in almost every aspect of my life. I was getting mediocre grades at a mediocre school. I was not taking drugs or doing anything particularly nasty, but I was being incrediably lazy. This sudden burst of lethargy that led to the nine-day truancy overcame the activation barrier that had prevented may parents from taking retaliatory measures in response to all of the smaller things that I had done. Their response was draconian; first they separated me and my brother. In addition to deciding to send me to another schoolto separate me and my brother, my parents also decided that the punishment should extend into the summer since thd deed had been done late in April and the schools punishment of nine Saturday detentions seemed insufficient. This planting season sentence consisted of my taking summer courses. Thus, it came to pass that I took algebra II before ninth grade.
When I arrived a Walnut Hills, which is the best academic public school in the city, I knew no one, Since I had no one to talk to during class, I decided that I would listen to see if the teacher was saying anything interesting. Lo and behold, knowledge fowed into and through me as excellent grades flowed out. At the tender age of thirteen, I had discovered that if I listened, I would understan. I had four straight-A quarters at Walnut Hills.
Skipping nine days of school made me a better person, there is no doubt about it. Not only did my academics improve, but my devotion to athletics was enhanced to that of a religious fanatic and my sense of morals was even improved.
