Being in Cyber High - Tia Fihaki

I’m in Cyber-High because after the volleyball season finished in freshman year, I didn’t really care about my grades. I stopped going to classes, stopped doing my homework, and just stopped coming to school all together. My life at home, caring for my grandmother, seemed more important than getting an education at the time but now that I’m in my junior year, I wish I stayed in school and cared about my grades because I’m missing more credits than I have. Honestly, I don’t know how I got here. All I know is I was put into cyber high last year right before the year was over and I didn’t finish, maybe even because I’m missing so many credits. So I’m guessing that’s how I got here. I hope to make up most my credits by the end of the year. I was always told to be different from my sisters and no matter how many times I told myself I wouldn’t be like them, I my actions were different from my thoughts and words. When my grandma got sick, she was on bed rest and needed to be cared for 24/7. She was diagnosed with Parkinson‘s for over 20 years and towards the end on my freshman year, she was diagnosed with End Stage Dementia. I was the only one that knew how to care for her so instead of missing a whole lot of school and showing up every once in a while, I stop coming to school over all. We were told that she had 2 weeks to 6 months left and we all wanted to be there for her last days so we all stayed out of school. She took her last breath on June 7,2010. All she wanted was to spend her last days with her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. We were all there and even though it was painful to see her go, I was happy that she was out of pain and out of misery. There’s always that one day where I miss her and just want to give up but I know that she wouldn’t want that from me. The only reason I’m trying to bring my grades up and graduate from Skyline is to make her proud. Her story of being disabled from over 20 years motivates me to do better and no matter what I do, give it my all and try my best, If she put up with Parkinson’s for over 20 years and never gave up, why should I give up? Having a disability isn’t as easy as high school. So this year, I hope to achieve the highest grade point average that I can get and in the long run, I hope to be able to walk the stage at Skyline Senior High School.