“Don’t be another teen statistic! Don’t be a loser on the street wondering why no one wants to help you!” Ms. Gorman screamed at several of her Graphic Communication Arts High School students after they cut her class so many times that they should’ve been given failing grades, but she gave them a second chance. After two years of countless suspensions, countless arguments with concerned family members, and countless detentions, Aida Morales realized that day in her high school classroom that although her teacher’s words sounded to her like something out of a movie, she needed to change her life dramatically.
“When I look back, I shake my head in disgust at all the things I have done. My priorities were in disarray. I tho
ught having fun was more important than going to school and being a good student and at the end of the day, my friends… or people I thought were my friends weren’t there,” Ms. Morales said as she adjusted her white collared shirt that was tucked into her pressed black slacks that she has to wear to work every weekend.
This 18 year old Business Administration major at Berkley College of New York admits to making bad decisions, but considers herself well on the road to redemption and success in her freshman year of college.
Raised in various areas of Brooklyn, New York by a single mother, Ms.Morales contributes her personality, experiences, and goals to her environment.
“With strong pressures from both sides of people in life, I was being pulled in two very different directions. On one side was my traditional Puerto Rican family that just wanted me to be a bookworm and go to college, while on the other side was my crew that I could go out and party with,” she explained.
Although pulled at first in the direction of negative influences, Ms.Morales managed to graduate from high school with a 90 grade point average and a Regents Diploma, and is now working towards a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.
If she’s not out working a part-time job, shopping, spending time with family, exercising, or bowling, Ms. Morales is at home writing poetry or studying.
“I’ve always stood out in a crowd. After all, with this red hair you can’t miss me, and although I’m young, I have experienced a hell of a lot more than most people I know. I would change quite a few things about my past, but I am glad that I experienced these things, because they have made me who I am today,” Ms. Morales said.