I Am Not a Dropout

Making It Out of the 'Hood

By Angela P., high school student, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

My name is Angela and I go to William Penn High School. I am not a dropout.  I have gone to school every day, even times that I did not want to go. Most of my friends that I grew up with dropped out of school because they knew they were becoming a teen mother at the time.

I could not be around people that don't want to go to school. One day I got this phone call from one of my friends and she told me that she was going back to school because she hated to see me go to school to make it out of the hood, and she said that she was going back to school to make a better life for her and her baby.

In school, you have to go through a lot with people and teachers. Not all teachers are going to like you, but you have to show them that you can make it. I had a teacher that told me that I was not going to make it, but I did. I’m in the 11th grade and still trying to make it.

So don't be a dropout. Show people that you can make it. Be a drop IN.