I know that this blog post may seem out of place compared to my other posts, but with the school year coming to an end, I want to look back and see what has happened in the past year and reflect on all these events. So let’s start.
What were some of the downsides of junior year? For starters, the amount of schoolwork increased and that was no joke. Unlike sophomore year, I stayed up hours on end until the early hours in the morning trying to finish up papers, studying for tests, and doing a lot of other homework in subjects from History to Calculus and Physics. It really was a difficulty trying to catch up on sleep and I experienced a whole new definition of the word “tired”. Added on to the stress of schoolwork was the pressure of standardized tests and college, keeping up with Track and its 5 am practices, and other extracurricular activities.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that there were the upsides of Junior year. In terms of sports, with the help of Tahar, Edward, and Nealay, we finally reached our goal in Track by breaking the 4 x 100 meter relay record from 1985, an accomplishment I will never forget. I also won a lot of awards that ranged from math to science to even Japanese in a variety of contests. The one contest I will never forget will be my Japanese Speech Contest, in which I was invited to Chicago to give my speech on the Atomic Bomb dropped on Japan in 1945. At the contest, there were people from all over the Midwest who came and spoke Japanese without any accents or dialects, showing me how much I had left to go in order to master my Japanese.
Don’t think this blog is about me trying to brag about my accomplishments throughout the year. All I am here to say is that when you look back on what has happened to you in a year, there were probably a lot of ups and downs. Look back at all of them and learn from all of them. It is good to feel pride in your accomplishments, but also see what you need to improve on and work to set goals for yourself for the next year.
Junior year has been by far my favorite year so far. Granted I don't take incredibly difficult classes like calc and have two periods. It's pretty cool that you gave a speech in Chicago, I didn't know about that. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteAgreed on the tired thing. I pulled my first ever all nighter (including sleepovers and stuff) during prom and several 3:30 bedtimes (followed by 5:30 track practices).
ReplyDelete4x1 forever.
What a great post, Nick. It makes me want to take some time and reflect on the past year myself. Junior year has been both the best and worst year of my high school experience. There has been a really overwhelming amount of work, but I've also had some really amazing times with my friends, many of whom are graduating shortly. This year has also by far has the most interesting classes. American History especially has been so engaging and enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how bad or good this year was, I'm pleased as punch to be almost done with the semester.
This is a great post with an excellent point. It's also very light on adjectives? Were you tackling one of my "final post" challenges? If so, good job. (This is well written, and the only adjectives I see are tricky ones that may not seem like adjectives, such as "whole" and "a lot".)
ReplyDeleteMrs. Majerus was right, light on adjectives. Your reflection is an interesting one. I keep feeling that it gets easier as I get more choice in classes. I choose things that I enjoy.
ReplyDeleteIf I really reflect on it, I do have more work, but I just dislike it less.