Reflection #2:
What, would you say, is your most valuable possession? How did you acquire this possession? Why is it so meaningful?
My most valuable possession is my Wii U. I know it’s weird to have such a materialistic thing to be my most valuable possession but I love it a lot because of its emotional significance to me. I had wanted a Wii U for a long time. My parents knew this but refused to get me one because they’re not exactly supportive of my gaming ways. But my brother knew how much I wanted one and decided to surprise me on Christmas last year with a Wii U and three games that I had wanted so badly! It was the best Christmas gift I had ever received for sure because I know how much it cost him but he bought it anyways because he knew that it would make me so happy. For the first few months I played a lot of my games alone- usually rotating between Mario Kart 8, Splatoon, and Twilight Princess HD but then I got an idea to invite a bunch of my friends over during winter break to play Super Smash Brothers with me. It ended up being super fun and there were like over 10 people at my house to play (good thing we had extra controllers and Smash 4 supports up to 8 players at once). Even though Lauren died (in spoons) at my house and she was super salty about that for a while, it was the most fun I had during the whole winter break. After winter break though, Kenny and Akhil decided to come over to my house to play almost every day for more than 4 hours each time since they really love the game and wanted to get better at it. They still come over to my house at least 3 times a week since we’re all second semester seniors and we’ve added a bunch of other people since then too. We are now not only a gaming squad, but a “let’s go on a two hour drive down Highway 9” squad and “let’s go make smores over a public fireplace” squad. I could not be more thankful for my Wii U because it brought me an entirely new friend group that I never thought I could have. It has made my entire second semester senior experience so much more fun than it would have been without them.
#8: When you consider your four years of high school, what is your fondest memory? Reflect on a particular memory you found especially powerful.
My fondest memory is very recent, mostly because I have a pretty terrible memory, from my senior night for soccer. Our senior night was our last home game of the season and for all the seniors’ high school soccer careers. School soccer meant a lot to me, and shaped my personality and work ethic over the years. My teammates were my best friends both on and off the field and my coaches were my greatest mentors and supporters. There was an announcement for all of the seniors before the beginning of the game. All of the seniors stand in the middle of the field, while the underclassmen stand on either side and form an aisle for us to walk down. The announcements included what our coaches and teammates thought about us, what we contributed to the team, and what we planned on doing in the future. I was so excited for mine that I don’t even remember what they said because I was just hugging everyone. They gave us all flowers and I did a cartwheel down the aisle. My entire family was there watching the game (even my two dogs) and I met with my parents at the end of the aisle and I was so happy.
We played against Wilcox (who was, admittedly, one of the worst teams in the league) and beat them. It was the first time in my memory that we had won our senior game so I was extremely happy about that. I was also really excited because it meant that if we won our next game, we could go to CCS for the first time in like a million years. After the game was our traditional senior ceremony. Each senior was assigned a few underclassmen that were the closest to them and mine were my favorite underclassman babies in the world, Rachel Tatley and Danielle Jung. The underclassmen usually get their seniors a basket full of things that they like and some pastry things. Sometimes they can put in some necessities for college: I got a whiteboard and really pretty dorm lights. They each present individually for each of their seniors and give a sentimental speech. Dani was pretty embarrassed about hers and she worried about it for weeks but I loved it a lot even though she started crying in the middle of it. Rachel’s was embarrassing for me because she told the story of how we met, in which I pointed to a healing scab on her knee and said, “That looks like a pepperoni pizza”. I looked like a total jackass but I still loved it because it was genuine and it made everyone laugh. We had 11 seniors on the team so it took a while but when we were all done, Kristen sang a song. Even though it was super soft and I couldn’t hear a word of it, everyone cried.
I am extremely grateful to have been able to call those girls my family for four years and will surely never forget them for years to come.
Reflection #9:
Write a letter of advice to your son/daughter upon entering high school.
High school is this weird, nebulous time where people are more mature than they were in middle school but still not mature enough to even be considered “adults”. Everyone is still trying to figure out who they are and it’s okay if you don’t know, even by the end of your senior year. I wouldn’t even worry about being popular in high school, by the time you finish college you won’t even know half of those people's’ names. Focus on finding yourself and surrounding yourself with people that will love and support you no matter what. Work hard in all of your classes, even during freshman year, but know how to have fun as well. Do not overwhelm yourself with APs that won’t even have an effect on your major in college just because you see everyone around you taking ridiculous amounts of them. There are things that I know I can’t protect you from. Wherever you go there will be influences, whether good or bad. I can’t tell you which ones to follow or ignore, I can only hope that you keep yourself safe with whatever you’re doing. Whenever it feels like you’re going through a rough time keep looking forwards to the future because it will always get better. Whatever you’re stressing about is probably pretty insignificant in the long run, especially if it has to do with school. Obviously finding a significant other shouldn’t really be the most important thing at this point in your life but if it happens then it happens. Just make sure that they respect you and treats you well. I also really don’t care about your sexual orientation or gender identity. You do you. Honestly, just have fun. You’ll hear this a million times but 4 years really isn’t that long of a time and it’s not worth it if you spend that time worrying about things that don’t matter in the long run. Studying is important but not as important as experiencing life itself.
