Camelot Graduate Essay: ‘Don’t Give up on Yourself’

My name is T-Jay Douglas Fry, and I graduated from Camelot in 2011. I am now an E-3 in the United States Marine Corps. I was just a kid who had problems and thought I could handle it by myself. I will share my story, and if you can learn from my downfalls and become a better person, then do so, because I wish I had had someone to share their story with me so I could have learned from it.

It all starts with me being expelled from McCaskey East too many times. After the second time, I had the choice to go to Camelot, which was a new school for problem students. I didn’t want to go because I didn’t want to leave my friends or the school I knew so well. But my mom and grandma told me I should go and see what they could offer me, so I did. I showed up for my first day, and the school seemed like it was made for kids who weren’t like me and had different problems. I wasn’t a bad kid, but some people knew how to press my buttons and make me really angry. I decided to show everyone that I wasn’t meant to be there, so every chance I got, I did whatever I could to prove it. I got good grades and did everything they asked from me and made it to Panther status in no time.

This is something I want to tell you because it’s not hard to do. Kids will make you fun of you and tell you things to get you off your games because they don’t want you to succeed. They just want to hold you back because that’s the only thing they know how to do. Another thing to do is to take advantage of what Camelot offers because I didn’t do anything to help myself. When it was time to leave, I was a great student and only had a few slip ups. My mom wanted me to stay and finish my high school career at Camelot, and I did, too, because it was still the place I needed to be.

At the start of my senior year, I was still a Panther, trying to become an Executive and rule the school. I had made great bonds with all my teachers and staff, so I thought this would be the year. Things began normally with the usual problems with kids, and I would help. But I really wasn’t helping myself. I still had my problems, and they came to a boiling point, and I exploded and ended up doing something I regret to this day. With my mistakes, I ended up in juvenile detention and got 30 days of house arrest. This was the point where everyone knew I needed help, and I got it and can’t thank everyone enough for it. With the help they gave me, I became a better person and put myself on the right track to greatness. I ended up going to college and making something better of myself. College wasn’t for me though, and I left after a year and a half and got a full time job as a landscaper at a local company. After few years there, I left and I owe thanks to my old teacher who knew I had more potential and could do better things with my life. So I joined the Marines, and now I’m doing this for myself and all because the teachers showed me that I could handle anything that came my way.

There are many things you could take from my time in Camelot, but I wanted to show you that even though you are in Camelot and have problems, you can make it out and move on and do great things. Don’t give up on yourself because your teachers and staff won’t. They work for you. Get as much as you can out of the school because without a good education and a great head on your shoulders, you won’t get anywhere in life. Learn from your mistakes; don’t live in the past; move on and just better yourself. Thank you.