While writing this, I have three more days left of my junior year of high school. With this comes a lot of reflection on what this school year has brought. To start off, junior year has hands-down been the most challenging academically. While this could be because of the addition of AP classes into my schedule, most graduates agree that junior year is just the hardest for some reason. I am grateful for the academic challenges though because it taught me a lot about time management and studying tactics. I also learned the very important (and difficult lesson to learn) that in order to stay afloat in an AP class you actually have to study, something that I had been somehow able to avoid throughout high school.

This school year I encountered a class that became my best friend and my worst enemy: AP U.S. History *shiver* I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I signed up for this class. Maybe I thought, "Challenge yourself, Tess! It'll be worth it!" or maybe I thought, "I'm already at rock bottom, might as well see how much farther down I can go." Yes that is a little dramatic, but in all honesty I really don't know what possessed me to tackle that class. The workload every night almost brought me to tears (and actually did on multiple occasions but that's not important), and the tests were traumatizing. With all of this said I would also like to point out the most significant part of that class, which is the teacher.

If you've been through the APUSH course at Carroll High School you've in one way or another been impacted by Mrs. Clark. She made the challenges of the class worth it and made every single student feel significant. She always had a smile and a kind word to say. She has so much faith in us and our generation and makes us feel as if we can change the world if we really believe in what we stand for. Earlier this week she told us, "You have an impact on everything and everyone around you, don't waste it" and I believe those are words everyone can benefit from.

So after taking this class I would recommend every upcoming Carroll student take it as well, only if you're ready for a challenge. Along with a more than challenging class, this school year has changed me in other ways. This past dance season was the hardest yet both physically and mentally, but all of those exhausting practices paid off with a state runner up title! That was definitely a highlight of junior year. Along with the hardships of schoolwork and dance every day, my best friend moved to Florida at the end of first semester which was definitely not a highlight of my junior year, but it was significant. So many things were happening at one time and I had no idea how I was going to handle everything, but I did. I'm grateful for the challenges this year brought me, although some things definitely weren't ideal. I've grown so much throughout my junior year of high school and I know all of the difficulties will pay off in the future. So next time a high school graduate warns you that junior year of high school is the hardest, believe them.