Personal Narrative: My Underclassman Experience
When I first stepped into Anderson High School as a freshman, I was exceedingly confident in myself. I played sports, had gotten good grades, and planned to have an amazing high school career. Freshman and sophomore year were a breeze. If I am being straightforward, I did not focus much on my schoolwork. I did what was required of me and got good grades, but I did not go above and beyond. I had always been told by upperclassman, “It only gets harder from here. Enjoy it while you can.” Now I realize what that means. Last year as a junior, it was my first year taking AP classes. I had taken honors classes before so how hard could it be? But I soon realized that the differences between my underclassman and upperclassman experience would be very
distinct. I was not prepared for just how difficult it would be. On top of that, I am part of DECA (Association of Marketing Students) and we were working many hours during first semester to prepare for our district competition in December. Through my hard work, I ended up qualifying for DECA ICDC in Orlando, Florida. Out of 215,000 members worldwide, I competed against the 18,000 who had qualified from around the world. This is my largest accomplishment to date. Through all of March and April, I spent all of my time preparing for competition and put schoolwork second. I had to juggle varsity Swimming, rigorous schoolwork, and DECA and I made plenty of mistakes, while I continued to do well in many of my classes, I noticed a decline in my grades in two of my more challenging courses. I was taking on too much at once, and I learned my lesson. Now after starting senior year, I have managed to balance sports, school, sleep, and a social life so far. I have set a schedule for myself to help me stay on track and have realized that asking for extra help in the classroom goes a long way. I am taking three AP courses and an honors class and I have seen a big improvement in my grades in subjects that I was struggling in last year. While some may speculate to as how long this will last, I plan to continue on the path I am on and am confident that I will succeed,
distinct. I was not prepared for just how difficult it would be. On top of that, I am part of DECA (Association of Marketing Students) and we were working many hours during first semester to prepare for our district competition in December. Through my hard work, I ended up qualifying for DECA ICDC in Orlando, Florida. Out of 215,000 members worldwide, I competed against the 18,000 who had qualified from around the world. This is my largest accomplishment to date. Through all of March and April, I spent all of my time preparing for competition and put schoolwork second. I had to juggle varsity Swimming, rigorous schoolwork, and DECA and I made plenty of mistakes, while I continued to do well in many of my classes, I noticed a decline in my grades in two of my more challenging courses. I was taking on too much at once, and I learned my lesson. Now after starting senior year, I have managed to balance sports, school, sleep, and a social life so far. I have set a schedule for myself to help me stay on track and have realized that asking for extra help in the classroom goes a long way. I am taking three AP courses and an honors class and I have seen a big improvement in my grades in subjects that I was struggling in last year. While some may speculate to as how long this will last, I plan to continue on the path I am on and am confident that I will succeed,