I woke up the morning of August 15, the first day of school at MV for the 2019 school year, and the realization hit me like a brick – the past three years have officially flown by and senior year is upon us. While I’m unsure as to how the time passed, in a whirlwind of homework, late nights, and school events, all I know is the lessons I have learned and the growth I have achieved throughout. I wish to take these lessons with me through it all as I enter into my final year of high school, graduation, and onto the rest of my life. 

While there have been hard times, good has come from it all. Through the bad, I have grown stronger as a person. In friendships and relationships, I have realized the kind of people I want in my life and how I deserve to be treated. Not allowing myself to lower my expectations or excusing people’s actions that disrespect me has allowed me to open myself up to more genuine friendships and given me a sense of peace. Going into freshman year, I had very little understanding of my self worth. I was naive, unaware that people close to me could hurt me. But, I would make up excuses and allow it to continue. In the end, this had hurt me more than letting go of that relationship would have. However, looking back on the hardships that have occurred over the past three years and the growth in my sense of self worth is something of which I am extremely proud. This year, I hope to further continue that journey and bring those authentic friendships into the next chapter of my life. 

In correlation with finding my self worth, finding a sense of independence is another aspect of my life in which I have grown tremendously within the past year, specifically even in the past couple of summer months. I am more content on my own than I ever have been during high school. Not having the worry or drama relationships can sometimes bring have brought peace, which in turn has given me a greater opportunity to realize myself and who I am. To something that may be considered “shallow” as dressing the way that I want without worry of judgement from my peers to upholding strong values and beliefs I hold, through this I have found that I am more confident than ever. 

Finally, my mindset has changed, and continues to develop daily. Once when I was stuck in the mindset of worry and doubt, the realization, however cliche, that everything happens for a reason, changed my perspective. From then on, I find myself thinking about why something happened and what the positive coming out of that certain situation may be. I feel as though this has helped me not only see life but people in a more positive light.

 Last year, during that same time I was struggling, someone told me that if something is supposed to happen, it will.The simple thought continues to give me hope. I wish to bring this mindset into senior year and the rest of my life, and I hope this belief could help another as well. 

These lessons I’ve learned in the past three years have shaped me into who I am now. I can only hope that this final year of high school brings even more growth and clarity for the next few years to come.