How Far We've Come (And How Fast It's Gone)

It is terribly hard to believe that I reached the end of ISM. Rather, this school year in its entirety has flown by in the blink of an eye. With that, I felt that it would only be proper to look back at the journey (crazy roller coaster) that it has been

To say this year was a challenge is an absolute understatement. Don't misunderstand; these words are not said negatively. I'm not going to say that I've never been challenged in school before, I most definitely have, but these two semesters make them look quite small.

Junior year has been long stereotyped by those I know as the hardest grade in school and I'm excited to say I can now join in on parroting this story. The amount of work that has been put into this year cannot be put into words. Any number of days or hours wouldn't do it justice. I'm proud that I've gotten through it and done fairly well in the process. It's worth putting in the work now to help me as I continue my journey in the future.

Despite all of the studying and work that required my attention most days, I greatly enjoyed this school year. I've gotten the opportunity to be enrolled in classes that actually interest me and was genuinely excited to learn about. Other than this class, I'd say that AP Statistics and AP US History were most definitely my highlights. I struggle to verbalize just how much I love learning. There is something so fulfilling about expanding your knowledge, especially when topic feels like it can be applied somewhere other than the four walls of the classroom.

I also got to create new relationships and strengthen my relationship with friends. I'm a firm believer that those you surround yourself with make a significant difference in your own work ethic and aspirations and I think I'm around wonderful people. My friends are my rocks, they truly have kept me grounded throughout the difficulty of this year and I hope I've done the same for them. I'm proud of all of them as well for making it through their school year, even if not all of them are juniors.

So with that, I can say junior year is over with and successful.

Almost.

The next two weeks are filled with AP exams. This is the last obstacle for me to face. As one of my teachers put it, I can only gain something from these exams, there is nothing to lose. That comment has helped dispel some of my nerves going into the week. No matter how these go, however, I am proud of myself for what I have accomplished junior year.

Wish me luck!