The Impact GMC Prep Has Had on Me
By Morgan Davis
When I started my time at GMC in the 6th grade, being a senior, graduating, applying to college, and all the other bittersweet moments associated with being a senior never even crossed my mind. I can remember walking through the main atrium in Usery and looking up at the seniors that seemed like these giant adults that I would never grow to be, yet here I am. As I got to high school, being a senior still seemed unimaginable and hearing the year “2021” never even phased me. Then junior year came, and I wanted nothing more than to be the ultimate upperclassmen, the high rank, the privileges, being done with AP Bio, all of it. Yet when it finally did arrive, I realized how much I wished I wouldn’t have wanted it so badly. Sure, all of those things I mentioned are great, but that’s only the latter half of “bittersweet.” The bitter part hit me just as fast, applying to college, growing friendships I cherish more than anything I could dream of that are only to be cut short with graduation approaching, adulthood, independence, and everything else that makes me wish I could stay young forever. We always hear our parents and grandparents tell us to enjoy it while we can only to shrug it off and say how much we want to get away, and now I know I should have taken their advice. I try my best to indulge in every experience I have now and make them last as long as I can. All of these sweet memories I can credit to GMC, along with many, many lessons learned along the way.
GMC Prep has taught me many things that I am beyond thankful for and that I can take with me to college and adulthood. Ever since elementary school, I have taken advanced classes and challenged myself with the more rigorous route. GMC is known to have more brutal academics, and that did scare me before I came to GMC, but now I’m grateful to have had that experience. The classes I chose to take through middle and high school challenged and pushed me more than I ever thought I could be, but I learned perseverance and dedication is all it took. Study tactics, learning abilities, and a little motivation can get you very far and I learned that very quickly at GMC. These skills are something that I know will be incredibly useful in college and I am forever indebted to GMC for thahave t. The academics are not the only thing that GMC has taught me, however. I am fortunate enough to attend a school with a military aspect, something I was also incredibly intimated by when I heard about GMC. The military part has also been a blessing though. I have been taught how to become a leader and a more confident and outspoken person. Being a leader is not as easy as it sounds, it requires motivation, patience, understanding, confidence, and many other things I had to adapt to as I moved through the ranks at GMC. Many of my friends can vouch for me when I say I used to be a very shy and reserved person, the thought of speaking in front of a group was one of my biggest fears, yet now I can confidently stand in front of a large crowd with ease. I have learned that getting a large group to follow my instructions and obey requires skill and method, things that GMC has taught me and things that I can again use in college and my adult life. Not many people can say they learned skills like these in high school, but I am very overwhelmed to say I can.
GMC has also personally impacted me in ways I find hard to put into words. Like I mentioned earlier, I used to be a very modest person and could not imagine myself with the mass of loving friends and relationships that I have today. If you had told me in middle school that I would be able to walk up to any person with the confidence that they are my friend, I would have never believed you. The memories I have made with these friends and lessons I have learned are something that could never be replaced or recreated, and I can’t wait to tell my kids about my time at GMC.
Overall, there are a multitude of things I can take away from being a student at GMC for seven years. I am a strong believer that everything in this life happens for a specific reason and that is so plainly clear in this situation. Being told I was going to a hard, military school is never something I thought I would treasure but there is nothing I value more than the impact GMC has had on me. I am absolutely in love with GMC and everything it has done for me and the experiences it has provided for me.
