Kevin+E

High School Speech: Kevin Estok If I imagined what my four years in high school would have been like when I lived in New Jersey, I wouldn’t have believed it. Moving to North Carolina from New Jersey in my summer to freshman year, I experienced a whole new way of life. Coming from a place where people curse all the time, in public places, in front of their children, it was hard for me to learn that form of restraint when here. It was because of the change in lifestyle here that I became very close to family, particularly my cousins. To this day, my cousins and I all support one another in any way we can. Then to make things even worse I had to transfer schools after freshman year to Green Hope High. It was here that I met my friends from New York Sam Cohen and Nicole D’Icchio :). My sophmore year was characterised by meeting new people and not remembering their names (and not really caring). It was during my sophomore year that I first spent a night at my brothers’ fraternity where I first introduced to drugs and alcohol. My parents knew what would happen to me when they left me there. My brothers told everyone I was a sophomore at Duke, even though I was fifteen. Over the course of the next few years, I continued to experience many things for the first time. Scuba diving for the first time in Hawaii was an eye-opener. Although it didn’t profoundly affect me, the experience makes for some nice pictures perfect for this project. I also tried to make use of my summers by culturing myself. I went to China during the summer of junior year. Unlike Scuba diving, the 4 weeks I was in China changed me. I saw what it was like to live under an authoritarian government, which tried to do everything to control the itineraries of Westerners while there. Being segregated in restaurants, lines, and trains based on citizenship was a first for me. These three weeks changed my perspective forever so that when I went into Junior year AP English I had plenty to write about. My junior year, probably like everyone else in this class, was defined by the strenous classes I took. I can't say I enjoyed Junior year. This past year I became really interested in politics. Although this picture was a joke, it’s the best way to represent my future political career. This year was strange for me becasue the whole year I prepared for another part of my life. I didn't really get to live in the moment this year because how busy I was like most Seniors. I just hope all the work I've done pays off one way or another becasue I can say I compromised my high school experience for future plans.