A million thoughts rushed through my mind as I walked down the Southwestern College, DeVore Stadium football field with my family after my name was called. Seconds before, I frantically changed into my dark blue dress after performing in the halftime show for my International Baccalaureate (IB) dance. Out of all the possibilities I thought that could occur during my high school years, getting on the homecoming court was the least expected.

I vividly remember the multiple emotions I felt as I saw my friends on the sideline and the crowd cheering me on—exhilaration, disbelief and a hint of sadness. The realization that my senior year has been passing by swiftly hit me. This brought up the question of whether or not I will be able to fulfill the goals I have been planning for so long or if I have made the most out of my four years in high school.

Starting off as a freshman, I had two main goals in mind—to find value in the work I do and to make new friends. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I found it challenging to focus during class and to communicate with my classmates. I recall forcing myself to get out of the comfort of my bed to join zoom meetings or to finish my assignments, including writing articles for the Crusader publication.

Coming out of distance learning for my sophomore year, I decided to revisit these goals. Throughout my sophomore year, I found myself surrounded by a group of supportive people who helped me both inside and outside of class. I learned how to balance my work for classes like Advanced Placement World History, journalism and Speech and Debate. Unlike my freshman year I stepped out of my comfort zone and took on the position of Opinion Section Editor for my journalism class, where I had more responsibilities than ever imagined.

During my junior year, I took a leap of faith and decided to take on the position of managing Editor for the Crusader. I was aware of the workload that came with taking on an editorial board position but I wanted to challenge myself and felt it was necessary for my growth. On top of that, I took IB courses. I experienced a burn out and ended the year weak. 

Currently, as a senior, I have one last year to accomplish a new set of goals. Over summer break, I came up with my senior bucket list where I established a few goals to improve myself and hone some skills I have acquired over the years. These are a couple of my missions I hope to achieve this year:

Participating in spirit weeks.

To make my senior year more enjoyable, I believe it’s important to be spirited when at school. Through spirit weeks, I can make the most out of getting ready for school, and I always look forward to the next spirit day. At school, I am able to feel more connected to my peers since we are dressed up for the same theme.

Journaling consistently.

I enjoyed being able to express myself through journaling for the past couple of months. Unfortunately, with my plate overflowing with work and assignments, my efforts to write in my journal stopped. Journaling allows me to keep a record of my day and gives me something to look back on in the future. 

Learning a new language.

This year, I was not able to continue my journey with learning Italian in Advanced Placement (AP) Italian, due to the class not fitting in my schedule. Italian is a language that I want to continue learning. With phrases and sentences fresh in my mind, it would be beneficial to keep the ball rolling rather than waiting for it to stop.  

Creating a vision board. 

The last time I updated my vision board was sophomore year, during my English 10 Accelerated class. As I am a few steps away from entering my adulthood, I find it necessary to create a collage of images of what I want to accomplish in my life. This helps motivate me to strive and reach my goals. 

Reflecting back on the three years in high school that I have accomplished, I have come to take note of the obstacles I have overcome and new skills I have acquired within these years. As the first quarter of my senior year is coming to an end, I have been slowly but steadily taking steps to fulfill these objectives.