Reflection

 The first semester passed faster than I expected. Compared to the usually long and boring fall, this year felt shorter and sweeter. Honestly probably mainly attributable to the very many deadlines with college applications and everything going on, the first part of the year disappeared in a whirlwind.

More so than any other school year, I felt that this year has been about me - which is honestly weird to say. Freshman year was about transitioning and sophomore year was about COVID. Junior year was about college and now it finally feels like it's about me, and not something else that's happening to me. Given, people have been asking about college, but it's less about the school or the experience but about what I want to do with my life. Maybe it's because I'm at the end of my high school career, or maybe it's because I've been thinking about it more, because I've had to write one too many introspective essays. As I transition to adulthood, I've been spending time in different ways and for different purposes.

Coursework wise, my senior schedule is much different than any other year. I'm taking many more social science classes (3!), alongside English, math, and science. From comparative government, to world history, and even to psychology, I've had a great time expanding into other topics that I've previously neglected. 

In English, I've similarly felt an expanding breadth of what we've learned and evaluated. We haven't even gotten into poetry yet, but between the different texts, authors, formats, lenses, and perspectives, I've seen and found many different ways to express thoughts. My highlights have been my peers, who I've conversed through with book clubs, debated with Oedipus, and read about in blogs. The diverse views I've been able to encounter have made me a deeper critical thinker. Critical analysis and seeing issues through multiple perspectives has been instrumental in my other social science courses and in my everyday life, when I've encountered writing, particularly in the news. My style and voice has developed to be less formulaic, though not as expressive as I'd like. With more intertextuality and connections across literature, I've felt myself grow, particularly with my ICEs.

As I'm moving into the next semester, my personal goal is to think less about school and more about the people that I'll probably say goodbye to soon. Between the jokes (sometimes) of "senioritis" and the somewhat slacker attitude that is justified because of my senior status, I've found that the things that are most important to me I haven't always spent the most time on. With family, friends, and fun, my goal is to relax and recharge while maintaining the academic balance that has played such a central force in my life. I think it's time to restart myself before college phase, and before I say goodbye to my childhood forever.