Throughout high school, challenges arise for each and every student. Whether it’s specific classes, extracurricular activities, time management or all these things combined, different students find various ways of dealing with such obstacles. For some, it is easy to conquer such difficulties, however to others, the same type of problems may be perceived as giant daunting feats. That being said, the majority of students eventually surmount to their circumstances, and many even emerge victorious. Conclusively, as it is the very end of the school year, it is important to recognize and commend those who gave it their all, regardless of the types of problems they faced, their learning levels, athletic abilities and their overall traits/differences in general.

When looking back on the year, almost everyone can agree that at some point they felt overwhelmed and faced times of discouragement. For Joy Leapley (17’), she definitely attests to her junior year being a busy one. “I think for a lot of people junior year is super busy because of all the stuff you have to do to prepare for college,” shared Leapley. “It was kind of the same thing for me, except I want to pursue a career as a cook so I put a lot of emphasis on the projects that I had in my culinary program. On top of that, my life felt consumed by the books as I got a lot of homework frequently so I had to juggle both things.”

Similar to his peers, Jalen Gibbs (17’) also faced a hectic schedule—however, he faced a bit more pressure in the public light. “I’ve played point guard for the varsity basketball team since 9^th grade so I’ve always felt pressure to perform my best. I know people are watching me so before every game, I always tried to turn my nerves into focus,” expressed Gibss.

In less limelight, Hunter Bowling claims that he spent the majority of his year studying and doing homework. “This year was crazy for me because of the A.P. classes I took. Additionally, I had a ton of projects in my engineering program so I guess you could say the majority of my life was consumed in school work,” Bowling jokingly confessed. “Besides all of the academic stuff, I think people easily forget that this thing called “a social life” is huge in high school. I know a lot of people who struggled to make friends and just be social, so if there’s one thing I’ve observed about adversity in high school, it’s that it varies from person to person.”

In summation, all students deal with hard times and despite what might seem miniscule to one, that same situation might just be the next person’s hardship. Furthermore, these same morals and stories are observed throughout life. Whether one is advancing to the next grade, a university or into the workforce, it is important to acknowledge the challenges that will unfold in the future. As for now, summer is approaching and the festivities are soon to blend with relaxation in the lives of many high school students. During the break, use the time off to reflect upon how adversity was dealt with throughout the year. In addition to this, it is imperative to also focus on what was achieved and lastly, what will be done in the future to correct possible mistakes, meet specific goals, and overall, have a good year.