The day starts just like any other, starting with getting ready to attend school for the day. It starts with tossing on the black jacket she wears each day, then enduring the long waits for the school doors to open to enjoy breakfast, and you cannot forget the wait until lunch to see her boyfriend. Plus, the occasional touches of lip-gloss here and there. What else is a teenage girl to do?
Selena Rodriguez is a first-year student at John F. Kennedy High School. She has been going to school in the Edgewood district for a while, she previously attended E.T. Wrenn Middle School.
One of her teachers from E.T. Wrenn, who has now transferred to JFK, Mr. Montemayor, recalls his experience with Rodrigez as his student. “Shy, bright, a great artist, a little mischievous and kind, but if you don’t give her food, she will say the worst things to you,” Montemayor said.
“She told me once that she hoped I’d choked on my Taco Bell lunch tacos because I didn’t give her one,” Montemayor said.
Selena also thinks about her middle school days by describing Montemayor as the teacher who most influenced her. “Montemayor was like a grandpa figure to me,” Rodriguez said.
Settling into the unfamiliar environment of JFK High School, she has continued to be in band after middle school. She plays the saxophone and recently played in a Christmas concert at the Fine Arts Academy. “I’ve been in band for three years,” Rodriguez said.
High school was not like Rodrigez expected it to be. “It has been normal; I thought they were going to give me a swirlie when I came here,” Rodriguez said.
“My friends are now either at different schools or scattered across Kennedy,” Rodriguez said.
In addition to typical high school activities, Rodrigez has achieved accomplishments in her personal life, too. “Something that she has done that inspired me is how when something hard happens, she always tries to let it pass,” Rodrigez’s boyfriend, Derek, said.
“I would describe Selena as someone nice and kind, and always funny,” Derek said.
Speaking of personal accomplishments, Rodrigez faced a challenge that she has overcome, which helped shape the person she is today. “One of the challenges was my skin. I have eczema, and I started to show my face more because I always used to wear masks. It is better now,” Rodriguez said.
Something Rodrigez enjoys in her spare time is reading. “I read comics, the Marvel comics, and my favorite Marvel character is Spiderman,” Rodriguez said.
“My favorite book is Anne Frank’s Diary,” Rodriguez said.
The day also ends just like another other day. Packing up and waiting for the bell to ring, then quickly escaping the confinements of those school doors. Then, walking to McDonald’s across the street and chatting with her boyfriend. It ends exactly right.
