Future/Junior Year

The future scares me a bit, as I'm sure it does everyone. The reason for this isn't because I don't feel absolutely prepared (thanks to my teachers, family, friends, and just everyone in my life) but it's because, this year, I've learned that hard work doesn't necessarily mean success. This was a hard lesson for me to learn but it came at a good time. It also helped me to learn that if you fail at something once, you can give it your all and even more the second shot. And if your second shot doesn't ever roll around you can always make other, if not better, opportunities for yourself.

Junior year marks the year in my life that I've probably had the most failures. But, at the same time, I'm grateful for this because I've learned the most from my mistakes this year. My GSP application is one example. After getting alternate for GSP (which by the way, I don't consider a failure! I'm honored to be an alternate) I looked back at my application and realized just how much of a mistake it was. For starters, like 99% of my application was music and GSP is definitely not a music program... I guess, when I need to "rave about myself" the first thing that pops into mind is what I've accomplished as a musician. Music isn't in any means the only thing I've done, but it is the easiest aspect of my life to brag about. After realizing how much of my application was focused on violin, I started considering my other interests and wondered why I hadn't included them on my application. This was a big eye opener and something I'll consider when applying to colleges. 

Moving on from talking about failing... Junior year has been the best academic year of my entire life. Yes it has been relentlessly stressful at times, but every single one of my classes has challenged me in some way, shape, or form. My teachers are all dedicated to helping  me grow and improve which is something I highly appreciate. The support has been tremendous and even though it's been exhausting, it has been rewarding. This summer my plans are to begin my mentoring project, go on college visits, volunteer/fundraise, and prepare for college auditions!