High School Reflection

09 January 2013
High School Reflection Draft

Nearing the end of my senior year is pretty bitter sweet. On one hand I'm very excited to finally be done and able to move on to the next chapter of my life. But on the other, I'm nervous that soon I will be out on my own and having to support myself. High school gives you memories that you will never forget, whether they are good ones or bad. When I look back on the last three and a half years I spent at Peoria, there are many life lessons I have learned and experienced that come to mind, such as being myself, taking responsibility, making decisions, and planning for my future. My freshman year of high school was probably one of my favorite years out of them all. I came into high school not caring or knowing what was ahead of me, everyone in my classes were people I had never met before, I was able to start over and build a new image for myself. Coming into high school I had a few fears, things I had heard from my friends and their older siblings. Mostly, they were just rumors. For example, I used to be deathly afraid of getting Mr. W as an English teacher, I had always heard about how mean he was and how he would tape up your phone the second he saw it. I managed to avoid him for 3 out of the 4 required English classes I took. But now, being in his class, its not all that bad. He's actually really funny and a great teacher. Another fear I had was how your middle school teachers would always say “High school teachers don't care if you guys do your work, they won't go out of their way to help you or track you down.” I have yet to have one teacher that has not cared or helped me in some way. I think the middle school teachers just tell us that to scare us. If you need help or are falling behind, just ask, any teacher would be more then happy to help a student that is willing to help themselves. That is one thing all incoming freshman should know. They should also know that no matter how cool or popular you want look, you aren't too cool for school. Every person I have known that slacked off their freshman year regrets it. Just do the work, study a little bit, and you can slack off all you want when you get out two hours earlier than everyone else your senior year. The last piece of advice I would give to someone entering high school would simply be to just be yourself. There are so many more people then there was in middle school, you will meet tons of new people. Do things you enjoy doing, things you have always wanted to do, you will meet people who have the same passion for things you do, and will enjoy your high school experience more if you have something to look forward to.

When sophomore year started I felt like I was one of the coolest people ever. I was no longer a freshman and I was another year closer to graduating. When I got my schedule for sophomore year it said I had Ms. W for English 2, I had never even heard of her before, so I didn't know what to expect. Throughout the day people kept telling me how mean she was, how hard her class was, and that she gave insane amounts of work. I was dreading going to her class for 4th period. Ms. W and I butted-heads the whole semester, I almost failed her class. That was one of my fears sophomore year, failing classes. Another class I almost failed was algebra 2, I had Mr. H. The class started off really easy, so I kind of slacked off, which I regretted at the end of the semester when I needed to pass the final to pass the class. Luckily, I pulled it off and managed to not fail any classes that year. A big decision I had to make my sophomore year was if I was going to try out for basketball or not. I've been playing since I was in 4th grade, I played for Peoria my freshman year as starting point guard and captain of the team. But, it wasn't fun anymore like it used to be in middle school, I didn't enjoy it as much. So in the end, I decided not to try out, which I do regret a little bit now. Junior year came and went pretty fast for me, I think this is the year I changed the most as a person. I realized being a good student and a nice person will get you way farther then being a bratty kid. I started preparing for my future more than I had in the previous years, by talking to my counselor and Mrs. A about classes I should be taking. I finally was able to take COOP, which I had been wanting to do since I was in 8th grade. I got 6 college credits for taking that class and passing it with A's. Another thing I am proud of about my junior year was that I passed medical science with almost a 100%, I ended up passing with a 99%, but still thats the best I've ever done. The best thing about that year was I took my last required math class. I was so happy that I was done with math until college. Now it is finally senior year, and I'm so excited to finally almost be done with high school. I learned a lot of important lessons in high school that will help me be a better person in the future. A few things I learned on a personal level was that things don't always go my way, being an only child I was used to that, but in the real world it's not realist to believe they do always go your way. I also learned that I will have to do things I don't want or like to do, many times over the years I was forced to do assignments and other things I didn’t want to do. But I still had to do them, that's life. Though there are many more, the last one I feel that I should share is I learned that I need to be responsible for myself. Your parents won't always be there, sometimes you have to do things on your own, and take care of your responsibilities. I feel like since freshman year I have changed, and thankfully into a better person. Senior year is almost over and I feel prepared, confident and excited for the future. I have learned and experienced a lot over the years at Peoria, they are things I will always carry with me and use to make myself a better person. I can't wait to graduate high school, go on to college, graduate college, and start my life. I'm going to miss Peoria and all of the memories it holds, but I'm ready to move on and start making new ones.