When my Newspaper teacher, Falter, tasked me with my senior article, which would encapsulate my high school journey, I was at a loss for what to write about.
My high school career can be summed up in many different ways, but the best way I can describe my experience at West is fulfilling. My high school years were far from ordinary, as the man upstairs gave me some of his most demanding challenges. COVID-19, paired with a torn ACL my freshman year, a sophomore year spent overcoming that ACL injury, and my junior year dealing with the passing of my grandfather. But in my senior year, it felt like the adversity I faced finally paid off. This journey, filled with ups and downs, is a testament to my resilience and determination, which I hope can inspire others down the same path.
My freshman year was anything but ordinary. The weight of COVID-19 on my education and mental health was already a heavy burden, but it was compounded by my second ACL tear in three years. The crushing blow left me feeling like all my hard work to recover from the first injury was in vain. It was a year that felt like my world was crumbling, but I held onto the hope of the three years ahead.
Sophomore year was my best year of high school. I joined the West Word and returned to playing football after nine months. But it felt like high school didn’t matter. Sure, I got good grades, but that lingering thought of “Does high school matter?” sat in the back of my mind all year. My sophomore year really took off for the postiive after I met two of my favorite teachers, Jiru and Falter, and made good friends. In the blink of an eye, I was halfway through high school. What I needed to know was that high school was far from over.
Then came my junior year, a year that would be defined by a profound loss. I entered my third year of high school with a refreshed mindset, but all hope was lost after my grandfather’s passing in November. His loss, though I was not as close to him as my brother or my other cousins, took a toll on me mentally. From that point on, I was academically a shadow of my former self. I was either showing up to class late or not showing up at all. I apologize to all my junior-year teachers for that. The only reason I was showing up to school at all was because of my Newspaper class. After my grandfather’s passing, those thoughts of “Does high school matter?” echoed throughout the year. I was taking challenging courses; three of my classes were AP classes. Even though I was challenging myself, I still felt like nothing mattered. Football this year was tough, too, and it would end up being my last year playing due to the health of my knee. I toughed it out, though. I finished the year with better grades than my first semester. Lighting had struck down upon thee my junior year, and instead of harnessing that lighting, I was caught with my pants down, and just as fast as a bolt of lightning strikes, my junior year was finished. Not all hope was lost; I was determined to make my senior year a better year.
My senior year was the most rewarding year of high school. After everything I went through during my junior year, I overcame it in my senior year. I finished my first semester with a 4.3 GPA. My success was not just getting my best grades in the past four years. It was applying the lessons I learned in the past three years to succeed. I was able to take the adversity that I overcame and turn it into success—turning lemons into lemonade. I got into all of the colleges that I applied to. I earned college credit through the college courses I took this year. It’s like everything that I had dealt with was for a good reason. I am deeply grateful for the support and guidance I received from my educators and mentors during my senior year, without which I wouldn’t have been able to achieve all that I did in my final year in high school.
Through my four years in high school, I realized that high school is a small part of the bigger picture of my journey. I learned valuable lessons and made good friends along the way. I am grateful for the obstacles that were put upon my path in high school. I was never a big fan of high school, but it’s not so bad. I bid farewell to Greeley West High School, which taught me not to turn away from challenges because they teach you the path to success.
