I was an AVID kid. I spent five years, from eighth grade to my senior year, in the AVID program, and it changed my life for the better. AVID means Advancement Via Individual Determination and is basically a class where students learned how to take better notes, visit college campuses, apply for scholarships, and prepare for the future. Without AVID, I don’t know where I would be or what my life would be like. Being in AVID made me strive to be a better version of myself.
The funny thing is that when I had first heard about AVID, I didn’t really want to be a part of it. I was afraid it would set me apart from some of my friends and that I would have to focus more on school and less on having fun. That second part is true, sort of. I did have to work harder and focus more on school, but honestly, it was for the better. Also, I made so many new and wonderful friends in AVID. My high school AVID class felt like a family by senior year. We had been through 4 years of high school, visited colleges, did community service, and debated questions during tutorials together as a family. I know that I am a different and better person now because of these people who were in AVID with me and because of the program itself.
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I know that because I was in AVID I got to see so many more campuses and experience the different college atmospheres which would not have happened otherwise. I know that being in AVID made me take harder level courses and actually study my way through the material, rather than just coasting through simpler classes. I learned better note-taking skills as well. Cornell notes have been a life saver in college, although my high school self and would not agree. Also, I know that having been in AVID, I was able to build friendships with people who were in the same position as me. Even now that I am in college, I have made new friends who were in AVID at different schools and it has given us a sense of camaraderie, a united front of having survived tutorials and binder checks.
AVID has changed my life and given me so much. Honestly, I’m still getting a lot from having been in AVID, even though I graduated from high school two years ago. I have gotten lifelong skills from taking part in this program and I never regretted joining AVID, even when the going was tough. The people that I have met, the opportunities I have been given, the experiences I have enjoyed, and the skills that I have learned and am still using will stick with me forever both in my heart and in my actions. I loved being a part of AVID, and I know that many of my fellow AVID graduates did too.
