Tag: English

May 6, 2018

~ Justin Wang ~ 2 Comments

My English teacher visited me today. She’s my Honors English teacher. To be clear, she’s the English teacher that failed me.

So when I was picking classes in 8th grade I picked Honors English because honors (I wanted to be smart alright). I had NO idea I would’ve been in and out of the hospital for my entire Freshman year at High School. I was set back in her class, and she gave me a D. What kind of English teacher fails their student then visits them at the hospital?

She gave me cards that my class made for me. If I’m going to be honest, I don’t care about the cards at all. I know that the class just made it in fake kindness. They’ll feel bad for a moment, do their “kind” part, then move on.

Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t say that. I’m just so angry! I’m in all this pain everyday. I… I’m struggling to keep my sanity intact.

Maybe I don’t even deserve the cards. What have I done? Complain all day thinking the world was about me? What was I expecting?

Reality is harsh. Out of the 50 million people that could’ve had hypereosinophilia, it was ME. What awesome luck.

If it wasn’t because of that I could’ve had a way better life. I could’ve been a soccer player, been way taller than 5’3”, not had any blood draws in my entire life, and been normal. I COULD’VE BEEN AN ATHLETE!

Oh my god what are these fluctuating emotions.

May 18, 2018

~ Justin Wang ~ Leave a comment

So the school year is ending on June 1, exactly 2 weeks from today. I still have some homework to work on.

My teachers at school have been super nice. My school counselor contacted all my teachers, and they excused me from my semester finals. All my homework and classwork have been excused too.

I’m working on homework because I need extra credit. Remember when my English teacher visited me at the hospital (see May 6, 2018)? I did horribly in her class. I have a D in her class. Long story short, I had to switch to another English class. Now I’m doing homework for that English class.

I sat down at the Ronald McDonald House’s community dining area with a cup of tea and started to mark and annotate Romeo & Juliet. It was surprisingly hard. My hands keep shaking  that it takes me twice the effort to simply write. My hands keep shaking because I’m on a medication called Prednisone. I think Prednisone is a steroid.

May 23, 2018

~ Justin Wang ~ Leave a comment

Remember when my old English teacher visited me at the hospital (see May 6, 2018)? She was my Honors English teacher. Well, she failed me in her class. I think the reason is because I was gone for half the school year and I couldn’t keep up with her class. Also when I came back I didn’t have the energy to do my best on her projects.

Or maybe I’m just dumb.

A week before my heart transplant, I switched out of her class into Regular English. I thought I could make up my grade in her class, but I didn’t expect to be in the hospital again.

In the hospital I emailed my teacher about making up my grade. The school year is ending June 1st, which is under 2 weeks. I have to do my make up work fast.

I spent my entire day doing my English homework. I had to annotate every soliloquy in Romeo & Juliet, and write an essay. My work isn’t that great, but I think it’ll bring my grade up. I’m hoping to get a C.

Unrelated, at the same time I made some bread. I decided to make bread so I could share it with the Ronald McDonald House. Bread’s also convenient to make. I just make some dough, and let it do its thing for a couple of hours.

I don’t know if you remember, but back in the hospital I had a heart pounding sensation. Heart pounding was a major problem for me because it would give me unnecessary anxiety. I still have that feeling, but I’m trying to push my endurance. Cooking is a great way to that. I’m standing and doing physical activity with my fists. Great cardio.

#cooking, #english, #exercise, #heart-pounding, #ronald-mcdonald-house, #school

September 26, 2018

~ Justin Wang ~ Leave a comment

Amy (see August 24, 2018) was my substitute teacher for English today. When I walked into my classroom, I was really shocked to see her sitting at the teacher’s desk. I waved to her and she responded with a smile and a wave.

Later in the class we talked about transitions back into life. I really wanted to know, how did I become “normal” again? She told me I have a new perspective. What I do with that perspective is up to me. Amy said she understands if I don’t want to be completely honest about my transplant. Before she left for lunch I asked for her email. That way I have someone to talk to.

At lunch was my journalism club meeting. I decided to do an article about Amy. The idea was a hit among them, because a kidney transplant is not something that happens everyday. Maybe another meeting I can tell them about mine.

January 10, 2019

~ Justin Wang ~ 1 Comment

Someone from my school’s yearbook team interviewed me today.

Her name is Arushi Avachat. She was, like, super professional. She’d make an awesome journalist.

My school will include me in their yearbook. Woohoo! They’ll give me two pages about my heart transplant and my blog.

I met Arushi during study hall. Study hall is pretty new to my school, and it’s kinda meh.

First she asked me questions about my condition, and what led to my heart transplant (If you also want to know visit About Me). Then she asked me questions about my blog. Who do I hope to reach, what is my message, and why I did it.

I think a question that caught me off guard was when Arushi asked me what I wanted people to know about me.

I answered that I wanted people to know that there was more to me than my heart transplant.

But is that true?

I mean, what other qualities do I have other than as someone who had a heart transplant? Other than my heart transplant, how exactly am I unique?

In the hospital before my heart transplant, I met other people and their only defining trait was their condition. I was afraid of becoming one of them, and guess what? I’m one of them.

I think that scares me. My life revolved around my heart transplant, and it still does.

I literally have a blog about it!

How do I move on?

Should I move on?

Oh! A fun fact! I didn’t write all these journal entries at their assigned date. I was WAY too uncomfortable in the hospital to write anything. However, my Mom took tons of pictures, so I just went back to the pictures to remember every thought, memory, and feeling.

It’s actually great that my blog will be in the yearbook. I really need exposure. I think the most views I got in a day so far was 8.

So yeah.

Woohoo! Yearbook!