My Last Words As A Sophomore

As my sophomore year comes to an end, I would like to take a look back at everything that I've accomplished in this short amount of time. Without a doubt, my sophomore year has been nonpareil to any other school year that I've had so far.

In many ways, my freshman year in no way prepared me for what sophomore year had in store for me. Freshman year had prepared us for an easy ride through high school that would be filled with simple vocabulary quizzes, and tests that would always be multiple choice. Much to my dismay, sophomore year was the complete opposite. Almost every week throughout this year I've had multiple quizzes and tests from day-to-day; not to mention all of the homework assignments that I've had to keep up with on top of that. I must admit that it's been a pretty tough job to maintain "good" grades, a decent sleep schedule, and steady work ethic. Nonetheless, I've grown to be a better student and overall person in general.

I give extreme credit to myself for holding on to my sanity throughout this year, and for staying dedicated when things got tough. I know that Algebra II has been a very tough class for me to get through this year, and I think this is where I give myself the most credit. There were countless "bad grades" that I had made in that class, but I stuck to it. I started studying more, and staying after school to get help. With that, my grades started to grow steadily.

Not only did I learn that I needed to focus more on math and take my time, but I also learned that I needed to dedicate myself a bit more to my work. One of my weakest points is that I give the simplest form of an answer possible for everything. Being an honors student, my teachers expect me to elaborate my explanations further rather than stating a short and simple answer and moving on. It's still a working process, but throughout time it's gotten easier to extend my knowledge and pull more information from just a few words.

However, I think the biggest effect that my sophomore year has had on me would be one of the scariest, yet most exciting things ever: growing up. It's crazy to think that in two short years, I'll be graduating. Graduating is so exciting because you finally get to get out of high school, you get to experience college and new-found freedom, and you get to be recognized as an adult. Graduating is definitely the "big step" that throws you straight into real life; that's why it's scary. However, while graduation may mean leaving those horrible days of high school behind, for some people it may also mean leaving your old friends behind. Of course some of your former high school friends will attend the same college as you, but overall you will most likely have to completely find new friends for yourself as a new college student. It's almost as if you get so close to people who learn to love you and accept you, and then you're forced to move half-way across the country and not keep in-touch with those people very well. That's probably not entirely how that whole process is, but it definitely seems that way. Sophomore year has definitely proved to me that I need to go ahead and start preparing for what college will bring, and for being an adult, because it won't be long and I'll be ready to graduate.

In conclusion, I think it's necessary to give myself a pat on the back for holding on for this long. This year has definitely been tough, but with dedication I've learned that I can get myself through just about anything. This year has also taught me that I'm growing up fast, and that every step of the way from here will be one step closer to being an adult. It's quite exciting to think of everything I've learned this year, but it's also scary when I think of how close I really am to the end.

So long, sophomore year!

            ~Taylor xx

A One-Word Essay: "Escape"

One word: "escape"

es·cape 
/iˈskāp/

Verb Break free from confinement or control.

Noun An act of breaking free from confinement or control.

What does escape mean to you? For some people, "escape" means something they can do to get away from everything else. For others, "escape" could literally mean getting away from somewhere. Therefore, depending on the context, "escape" could mean a lot of things. 

To me, "escape" means something that will completely take me away from everything else. My main "escape" happens to be music. As I've discussed before, music does a lot for me. It takes me places that nothing else can, and also lifts me when nothing else can. Through music, I’m able to express almost exactly how I feel. It’s almost as if the artist or composer of the song has written something specifically for me. It’s amazing!

Music then becomes my escape because not only does it express exactly how I feel, but I’m able to get lost in what the song is trying to convey to its listeners. Whether it’s the lyrics, or the melody, or the overall emotion of the song, something always captures my attention in such a great way that I’m forced to stay and listen to the song.

Music becomes my escape because I am able to get so lost in what I’m listening to, that I forget about anything I was worried about prior to listening to a specific song. For instance, I could have had a horrible week, been stressed out because I was going to have not only a Chemistry test, but also an Algebra II test, not gotten much sleep, or even fallen behind on schoolwork, yet once I get into my car and that one upbeat song blasts through my speakers, I'm in a completely different world than I was before. It's almost as if, for a few moments, everything else drifts away and all I'm left with is the hype of the song and the catchy lyrics. 

Music allows me to escape. And that is exactly, and solely what I think of when I think of "escape". I think of music, and only music. 

What do you think of when you think of "escape"?

                                                 ~Taylor xx