The High School Experience of Hannah Hendrix

Hannah Hendrix was an amazing and bright student. She had gone through a rough patch and fell into a deep and dark state of mind. Her Freshman year in high school was spent attending school at Granite Falls High School. She absolutely despised every moment of it. People and teachers just didn’t care for her. Everyone belittled her and treated her like they were above her. Halfway through her freshman year she dropped out and moved to online. Hendrix spent most of her time secluded and hidden away in her room. She never wanted to be around anyone or do anything. She ended up falling behind and realized she wasn’t going to graduate. Her mother thought of a solution for her. She was going to transfer to Crossroads. Crossroads is an alternative high school that was made to give kids second chances and to help them through their problems. Crossroads was the first step in Hendrix’s life to change her outlook entirely. 

Hendrix started Crossroads in the 2014-2015 school year as a Sophomore. At first she felt anxious and alone. She found that the people at Crossroads were different. Most people were kind and wanted to get to know her rather than the people at the high school who were aggressive and snobby. Throughout that year Hendrix came home almost every day with a smile on her face. Her grades went up from failing every class at the high school to straight A’s. Crossroads truly changed her for the better.

Within her years attending Crossroads, her main support was her family. That family didn't stop at blood however, as she also had people like Matlack, Kayla, Orr and Bridgett. These people felt like family just through helping her though school. One of Hendrix’s favorite things to do was draw. She loved expressing herself through her artwork. She has two ceiling tiles in the school one in Carlson’s room and another in Matlack’s old room. Hendrix had a lot of favorite things about Crossroads but what she really enjoyed was Challenge Day. The first week of school sets the path for how your year will go. Challenge Day is a day for people to open up and get their feelings out. It brings people together. 

Hendrix thinks that the school could improve if we did more things like challenge day to keep us together and open minded. Knowing someone’s problems to an extent can help you understand them better. Hendrix has always been so understanding. That’s what makes her such an amazing person.

I asked Hendrix how she feels about Crossroads now and she said, “I am extremely grateful for Crossroads and everything they have done for me and my family.” She truly feels that Crossroads is like her second family. She even still talks to some of the teachers. It’s an amazing thing when people get second chances. My sister was able to get that second chance and she graduated Salutatorian of her class in the 2016-2017 school year. Crossroads made her who she is. She would not have turned out to be as successful and strong as she is if not for Crossroads.

-Laura Grissom