I remember the misery of my first day of freshman year. I was afraid to go back to school after 2 years of being an online school student, but mostly I was afraid of feeling alone again. Most of the students from my middle school were to attend Prospect High School. I and a few others were the only bunch of kids to come here. I was happy enough to know at least a few people, but truly, being isolated from the rest of the world for those tremendously long and terrible two years took a toll on me. I recall missing school and feeling like I never belonged anywhere. I had trouble connecting with people and found myself to be in a position where middle school me would never believe I was once at. I can’t say I have favorite memories from my very first year of high school, but I also can not say I have none. I remember the day I switched English Honors I classes and suddenly I began to enjoy school again like I once did. I remember all of the fun activities and projects we did in Mr. Evans’ class. But mostly, I remember the friends I made from attending his study hall. Many silent battles that were slowly being fought meant that slowly once horrible start to my freshman year,was turning into a good end and when I think back on it I couldn’t be more thankful. My sophomore and junior year got much better. I found joy in school again. I slowly started to feel like myself again. I began to enjoy attending school events. I enjoyed sophomore year homecoming the most, as it was the first homecoming I would be attending and I got to attend it with someone I care about very much. I began to make new friends and I got close with more people than I ever expected. I slowly began to mature and escape the once negative mentality I had my freshman year. I started to get more involved in school activities and I found that truly helped my experience. One of my favorite memories from activities from my sophomore and junior year are LIFE Crew days and from Latinos Unidos are all of the events that we hosted. I began to see changes in my high school experience meaning that it got much better, but also I saw changes in myself. I began to mature and realize that I was not enjoying and experiencing life to the fullest as I was restraining myself. I stopped feeling ashamed to get help. I learned to advocate for myself and to do things that help me reach my goals and full potential. I started to do things that helped me avoid burnout. My biggest piece of advice to others is to care for yourself and your mind. Remember to be kind to yourself.
As my senior year is coming to an end, I reflect on this year the most as it is the one year I feel I finally applied everything I learned the other three years of high school. I am at peace with myself. I finally stopped feeling like I was a misfit to the rest of the world and I learned to embrace who I truly am. I mostly appreciate all of the knowledge I gained whether it be in an educational aspect but also in life. I am sad that high school is coming to its end, but having made great friendships and great memories I am grateful to have been able to experience this. I appreciate all of the memories I have made. Spending time with friends, attending school events, reading literature that I can say I have learned from and applied to my life, and most importantly finding myself once again.
If you asked me three years ago how I thought my high school experience would end, I would say bad, but now that I reflect deeply on it, I am proud to say I know the end and I am proud of all of the accomplishments I have achieved, how hard I have worked on academics, but mostly I am proud of the person I am becoming. “ I believe in the person I want to become”.