From High School Musical to Grease to Clueless and beyond, high school has often been an important part of movies throughout the decades. Movies have also been a defining part in my own life, but they often set unrealistic standards for everything—high school being no exception. Going into freshman year, I prepared myself that it was not going to be like the movies. Knowing that, I've also realized that life is what you make of it. Of course, school will never be like the movies because we are not 25 year olds pretending to be teenagers, but that doesn't mean it can't be an adventure! If there's one other thing I've learned from coming-of-age movies, it's that pushing yourself through high school like a robot will probably be a regrettable decision. So, I tried to implement this idea into my freshman year. It wasn't perfect, but it did make me do some things, like go the homecoming football game, that I enjoyed and probably wouldn't have done otherwise. Academics are really important to me, but I learned that there's more in life than school.
"If there's one other thing I've learned from coming-of-age movies, it's that pushing yourself through high school like a robot will probably be a regrettable decision."
I'll admit that in middle school, I didn't really have to try that hard. I could do well enough in school without studying. However, that mentality basically set me up for failure in high school. This year, I've experienced challenges that I wasn't used to or prepared for, but it's helped me grow and it'll hopefully help me be a better student next year. The year started out okay, but as it progressed, my grades declined. I had no motivation to do better, and I didn't know how to study, really, which heavily impacted my results. And of course, I didn't have the most typical freshman experience due to coronavirus. I'm lucky to not be a senior and be losing important events, such as graduation, but distanced learning really has changed me as a student—both positively and negatively.
Getting a break from school was a relief at first; the work wasn't as hard and it made me more independent. After having 5 hour rehearsals 5 days a week for Xanadu, the school show, I was beyond thankful to have time to rest. Soon though, that rest time turned to an all day event and I was even less motivated than I had been before. Schoolwork has begun to feel more like a chore and less like school. On top of that, recently I've felt so distressed by our country and the atrocious crimes committed against African Americans. I will never have to feel that way because of my privilege, but I feel powerless to make change. I've done everything I can think of to help, but the lack of change occurring makes school seem futile in the scheme of things. Still, I continued, and still continue, to try my best with school work because I know that education is something that will help me make a change.
My freshman year was nothing extraordinary. Unfortunately, nobody burst into song at random points of the day—except maybe my friends and me—yet it was still a special experience that I'll hopefully remember for a long time (and not just because of the pandemic). I had to try harder to maintain good grades, and I didn't succeed constantly, but, and as cheesy as it sounds, I learned that the process is what really matters. Freshman year helped me discover my passions and in the future—I hope that I will look back at it with pride, not embarrassment.