Freshman Cristian Delarosa first enrolled to La Vega in the eighth grade, but recently contracted a disease called multiple sclerosis (MS) that affected all the nerves in his body. He said his first symptoms were fatigue and numbness all over his body; then the next day he couldn’t see very well, and that afternoon he got very dizzy and felt weak in his legs.
Cristian had second thoughts about coming back to school, but he knew it wouldn’t be the same if he didn’t. “It would be a lot tougher with no friends around, and nobody to talk to,” he said.
There were a lot of things he couldn’t do like playing football that year as he did in seventh grade. He also thought that if he came back that nobody would talk to him or treat him the same as they used to and how it would affect his education by not getting his work in on time and missing out on all the in-class work. He also missed meeting up with old friends. And didn’t want to come because he can’t move as fast as before and was afraid he couldn’t get through the halls on time to class. He’s very confident of himself because he knows he will fit in no matter what because he does his work, and he’s not afraid of many things that go on in school.
For example the freshman is not afraid of failing because he knows that he’s not intelligent enough to pass, nor is he afraid of students’ picking on him because he knows many people have his back. The boy has set very high expectations such as; he thinks that the classes shouldn’t be very far apart because it takes him more time to get to them, even though he gets to be released early to lunch and to other classes and is accepted if late, and that the classes should be a little longer so that he could get all his work done and notes written.
Cristian also thinks that the lunch hour should be a little bit longer about 15-30 minutes because he doesn’t have enough time to talk to his friends. Also, he absolutely dislikes the student dress code, saying, “It teaches discipline, but it’s just not appropriate because it doesn’t change anything except the way we dress, but it’s ok to deal with.”
The funniest thing that happened to Cristian at the school was in science class when they were dissecting frogs, and toward the end they had a dance contest with the frogs; when it was his turn, he pulled off a leg by accident, and it fell into a girl’s hair.
This student also mentioned his most unusual incident was when a girl just walked up and stuck her stuffed animal on his shoulder, and the most embarrassing thing was when he was in the cafeteria during a assembly while was talking. All of the sudden, everyone else was quiet, but he still was talking, so he had to go to the office.
After Cristian graduates he plans to do when he graduates is to attend MCC to study to be an architect.
Even though he now uses a walker, he still is the same old Cristian who likes to play, talk with friends, and read every now and then. He also has the same cool and happy yet calm personality he used to. The former football player also said that his biggest obstacle that he had to overcome was realizing that he might never walk again, but he is now walking and is astonished at how well.
Cristian likes coming to school and says that the people here are really cool but don’t treat each other as well they did last year. He said the only difference was that the halls are much more crowded and that it’s harder to get through, but that doesn’t stop him from getting to and from class on time. What he likes most about school are his friends and Mr. Pike’s class and that nobody treats him any differently, just that they tend to stare a lot.
But all’s well…. he likes this year because he doesn’t get special treatment and is not ignored by other people because he uses a walker or because he’s not like other students; he’s a bit quieter than most people and- he has a little advice to all the people in the same situation—“never feel bad about the way you are, you’re just as normal as everyone else.”