It’s already the month of May, and the school year is almost over. This means my freshman year is over. Within these 10 months, I have learned A LOT of lessons about high school and learned more about myself in terms of how I work with different types of people and how I adjusted to a new school, in a new state. My experiences ranged from just making new friends to the constant struggle of trying to maintain my grades while still putting my mental health first to prevent myself from burning out so much. From the first day of school until now, was my freshman year a great year?

I remember my first day of school here at Desert Oasis. I didn’t get to school early, and half of first period was already done. It felt awkward going inside a dark classroom with a presentation going on, and I felt so much embarrassment. Luckily, everyone had a friendly attitude, and I was able to make some new associates to start off my year. Although I had a so-so type of morning, lunch was by far the most stressful event of the day for me. In a school that had more than 3000 students, I was overwhelmed by the sight of students all congested in a small cafeteria. To say the least, it was hard for me to approach people because of the unknown social norms that I may not have been aware of. On top of making new friends, I experienced the transition from middle school to high school, and classes will get harder depending on how much of a challenge you want. Math was getting really hard for me, and as a result, I resorted to getting tutored. Even until now, I can say that school is a bit hard in some subjects, but it’s okay to feel burned out and not always have great scores on tests.

Some of my peak moments this year were my first hangouts with friends, homecoming, and meeting new people. Even if these moments were from the earlier parts of the school year, it still holds a lot of meaning for me. I don’t think this era will ever be boring to talk about, since this school year was my first in Nevada, and I hope to continue making memories like these in the future. In terms of any bad moments, there were times where I had to reconsider my life decisions and figure out if some people were still worth being friends with, and if I was trying too hard or not doing enough to have a better life. People will not always look like what they seem to be like during the first impressions, and it’s always a good idea to trust your instincts. I finally came to a conclusion that high school is where you start to make big decisions for yourself, and you start to see what kind of adult you’ll become. Mistakes are still alright to make during these short four years, but it’s best to keep these mistakes still alright to fix, rather than spending your whole life trying to change that one wrongdoing.

As I’m writing this, it’s now May 9th, 2022. I finally turned 15 years old, and I’ll be a sophomore this fall. I felt like this year was not too bad for me, and I learned more about the people and the environments around me. Even though it’s just the beginning, I know that I still have a long way to go. I look forward to my next three years here at Desert Oasis and envision a successful future for myself when I graduate.