If there were one quote that could perfectly sum up what I’ve genuinely realized and learned from my junior year it would be this: “…and then I realized I was holding on to something that didn’t exist anymore. That person I missed didn’t exist anymore. People change. The things we like and dislike change, and we could wish they wouldn’t all day long. But that never works.”

There was so much change around me and even in me in just this short window of time, compared to the entirety of our lives.  Learning to adapt to change and be accepting of it and working with it are challenges for me. Now as I near the end of junior year I can half-confidently say that I’ve passed level one. Ever since we were freshman the friend group we’re in evolves, as do our relationships with our parents, academics and athletics. I’ve learned, the hard way, how important grades are and though I wish I can go back to freshman year and really give it my one hundred and ten percent, I acknowledge that time traveling is not yet possible. Instead of beating my self up about it, I’m learning to move forward and work harder now.

Another cliché quote that I found relevant to this year is one said to many people when they’re young and in a variety of different ways, it is: “you’re going to fall down a lot, but what matters is finding a way to pull yourself up. “ No matter how hard things get in relationships, sports, schoolwork, and jobs outside of school perseverance is truly key. It’s not easy to obtain, but trying is better than giving up.  As a junior in high school, I’ve barley put my feet in the hot tub of life. Yet I feel myself growing day-by-day, and remain scared and excited for what lies ahead.