My last first semester of high school has definitely been a difficult one. Originally, I had my schedule planned so that I would have the easiest year possible, but in the hopes that one of my friends and I would have all the same classes, my Senior Foods got switched to a Research and Design, and my Blended Honors Senior Rhetoric became an AP Literature. All that, and we got absolutely no classes together (I really do not know how that is possible, especially because we both had to have early dismissal and fifth-period lunch for Student Government). 

I have grown greatly this past semester because I was pushed far out of my comfort zone. A lot of my classes, especially Research and Design and BusinessINCubator are heavily group-project based, and being in a class where I had no friends forced me to meet new people. I am also somewhat of a textbook learner in that I usually do much better when I am tested on something that I read in the textbook the night before, making projects to build pinhole cameras out of wood difficult for me. However, I feel that I have learned a lot more about myself this year and my ability to problem-solve. I have learned how to use power tools, 

give business pitches, derive functions and how to make sense of streams of consciousness, teaching me how to do things I never thought I would have to- expanding my schema of what it means to learn beyond the words of a textbook. Growing past the type of education I was so used to has made every accomplishment so much more rewarding, and I feel much more proud of every milestone I was able to achieve. That a-ha moment when Vardaman’s fixation on fish and vultures makes sense, or when my pinhole project is light-tight and able to take a clear photo are truly some of the highlights of my educational career. Though it has been an unexpectedly very difficult semester, I have found it to be one of the most rewarding because I have had to work a little bit harder for everything. 

I know that everybody says that junior year is the hardest of high school, but I have found senior year to feel the longest and most arduous. This can probably be accredited to the fact that the end to my 12+ years spent in a District 203 classroom is coming to an end. The anticipation of college decisions and graduation also scare me greatly, making me want to skip to the next chapter so I don’t have to wait anymore. Unlike a lot of my friends who have had dream colleges since Kindergarten and have always known what profession they want to get into, I have always been unsure. My entire family (my brother, sister, mom, dad, and all

aunts/uncles on both sides) have gone to UIUC, so when I am asked where I want to go, I often just say Champaign because it is the easiest. But, if the college-application process has taught me anything, it is that there are so many incredible schools out there, and a place out of Illinois exists, and I need to consider all my options. Although UIUC is still an amazing school that I would be truly privileged to attend (and I am definitely not ruling out), I also need to consider all choices so that I have no regrets. So, my advice is in a time of making huge, life-changing decisions, make sure each one is for yourself. 

The last six months have taught me that sometimes the harder path is the more rewarding one, and that big life choices are ones that I can’t feel forced into. These are both lessons I have taken away from the first semester that I will carry into the second and the rest of my life, as the beginning of my next chapter has only just started. I have also learned many other smaller lessons, such as I will not miss swimming, how to quit a job, ice skating is not bad, and to put an Airtag on my wallet so that I don’t lose it (or my connected keys) for a month, have to cancel all my family’s credit cards and order a new driver’s license only for the tennis team to find it on the Huskie bus. So, even though the first semester ha s been a hard one, it deserves a big thank-you for all these lessons, the big and the small, all things I will carry into whatever comes next.