Introduction

Sometimes a school crisis erupts on a high school campus unexpectedly. Other times, there a slow build up of tension before the crescendo, and that crescendo can be hate speech, or any number of incidents. Twenty years ago, in Wales Academy, I was a student in crisis. Although I was more in tune with the momentum of chaos and cause for concern, I was adamant that my course of action was justified and I was a healthy teenager. I fully believed that everyone around me misunderstood my behavior and my thinking when it came to my day to day interactions in school and my larger plan to make more friends.

“Wales High School: First Diagnosis” is a front row view of High School in the early 2000’s during the rise of the millennial in a highschool setting. In the midst of this new era in America for young adults hoping to one day transition to higher education, Jacques Peters, and his makeshift group of friends, acquaintances, and enemies from within his social group will make visible some important questions for aging youth: 1) why is friendship and healthy connections so important in adolescent development? 2) what is healthy in the context of adolescent development when passion, mood, and thoughts are all as enmeshed as they were in the student body at Jacques small high school in Wales Academy.

The very same passion that set the stage for J. Peters adult adventures into language, mental health, and social work, are visible during his most youthful and most vulnerable phase of life: adolescence. Here, the reader will witness firsthand how this iconic literary character gained the transformative power to transgress with such ease, albeit to his own demise, and ultimately, setting the path to his near distant future in New London University. 

Preface

This book will get underneath the root of Small Fingernails, elaborating on the urgency of J. Peters mission to New London University and new life he sought to establish for himself after his heart-wrenching experience in Wales high school. Wales High School: First Diagnosis follows the life of young J. Peters in his junior and senior years at Wales high school when the shadow of his mental health disorder first entered his young life and his primary education environment.

The reader will get a first hand look at Jacques attitude in the classroom in Wales High School. From English class, to Biology, Jacques Peters character will take on new life and meaning for readers interested in how this iconic character became the person who initiated Contesting Admission in University on Watch.

Indeed, Jacques will contest admission to classes in this book, petitioning into honors level classes where he was restricted from due to poor performance as a result of his new mental health disorder and burgeoning social problem which will blossom into full blown stalking, warranting the attention of Wales police and the psychiatric hospital. Readers should be prepared for joy, hope, grief, and labored panic stricken horror as this book unfolds and is prepared for the public at large this fall.