As senior year ends I've been reflecting a lot on what I've done and learned in the past 4 years. For my first blog post I want to share what my high school experience has been like and what I have learned.
Starting high school was kind of a scary thing because I missed freshmen registration because I was at summer camp. I did get lost the first couple of days but overall the year was pretty fun. I got to grow closer to friends from middle school while also making new friends. I was in concert choir and also did stage crew for the show choirs. Doing stage crew was probably the best choice I've ever made. I had the opportunity to meet upperclassmen and learn more about show choir. Towards the end of the year, Mrs. Yoder encouraged me to audition for show choir. I was so nervous but I knew show choir was something I wanted to do and I figured if I didn't get in I would be ok with doing show choir just my junior and senior year. Singing by myself was not something I was very fond of and still isn't to this day. I suffered through my audience and made it into show choir, however, because Mrs. Yoder believed in me, even though I sort of lacked some confidence.
During my sophomore year, show choir was an adjustment. I also was taking more challenging classes. I learned that learning the choreography and singing parts was a lot harder than handing someone a prop or helping during a costume change. I was quite intimidated by our choreographer Jeff at first. During rehearsal I was often get called out because I had made a mistake or wasn't doing something quite right. Sometimes I would go home and not want to do it anymore but I never gave up. That year was the second year Starlights had won state! Winning state taught me that anything is possible with enough effort and belief in yourself.
Show choir really helped me become more confident as a person. Although I still wasn't comfortable singing by myself, I became more confident in giving class presentations and talking to people I didn't really know. As a junior, I was still in Starlights but also in student council (like the year before), National Honor Society, and often involved in art club (or National Art Honor Society). I liked being in National Honor Society because it gave me the chance to volunteer more with church, like in GEMS and with the younger kids, and with other organizations too.
I felt more comfortable with show choir during my junior year which made it more enjoyable and I knew more people in the group. That year we were first runner up at state and we weren't behind by that much! As a junior, you start to think more about college and what you want to do with your life. I had always planned on being a teacher and started to consider psychology or counseling as a minor. But as I started to look into colleges I decided I wanted to do some sort of ministry and travel the world.
As a senior, I decided to go to Grace College and major in Educational Ministries and minor in Intercultural Studies. I found a way to combined everything I wanted to do. I hope to teach in other countries and teach others about God's amazing love all over the world. I'm trusting in him to guide me in the right path and give me the opportunities I need to succeed.
My senior year of show choir was definitely more challenging than the year before. There were more new girls than past members and it took us awhile to become more solid in our show. The week of our first competition many of us experienced members began to think that winning state was most likely not going to happen. Even winning a regular season competition didn't look like it would be very likely to happen. I remember praying so hard that we would soon have our "wake up" moment and the show vision would fall into place. In the middle of the season, after quite a few changes, we had our moment. The last few competitions went amazing! Finally state finals arrived and after we performed, we all knew that we left our absolute best on the stage! We walked into the auditorium to watch Fairfield's choir, still in costume because we had just performed, and what happened next was possibly my favorite show choir memory ever. As we walked in as a group to find seats, almost everyone stood up and clapped for us. I knew in that moment that we had a very good chance at winning state. In that moment I also knew that hard work and dedication truly does pay off. Confidence and faith also can make anything possible. Although I knew we did super well, awards was a nerve racking time. Once I knew we made it into the top five, I was happy. Top five seemed like such a huge accomplishment compared to where we started, let alone making it into the top three! We had won best vocals but that was the only caption award so I became a little more nervous. When the second place winner was announced and I knew we had won state, I began to cry. I was so happy because we had did it and everything worked out amazing in the end. All of our long rehearsal hours and hard work paid off and it was the best feeling.
I know now because of this that anything is possible. Anything you want to do in life, any goal or achievement you want to attain, it is all possible not matter what. Some other things I've learned in high school is that it doesn't matter what anyone thinks of you, as long as you know what kind of person you are and you are happy with yourself no one else's opinion matter. Losing friends is no big deal because eventually you will make new ones and if they are really your friend they will stay with you. Doing bad on one assignment, or even two, is not that much of a big deal. You will still get into college if you don't have all A's and B's on your report card. Being true to yourself is important. Don't change your likes/dislikes or morals because of someone else's who you might admire.
And most importantly, be happy with who you are. Some days you might feel insecure and other days you'll feel super confident. But you need to learn to love who you are and only change something for the good. Someone else might seem cool doing something but if it's not helping you or someone else become a better person why do it? The world is in need of good people and anyone has the potential to become one, no matter what their background is or what kind of person they are now. People say high school is the best four years of your life and while they have been a huge learning experience I would say the best is yet to come. High school sets you up for the best years of your life and gives you the tools to make your whole life the best years. You learn to get through the hard times and boast in the good times.
I hope to keep this blog going throughout college and in my whole lifetime to share my experiences and life lessons I've learned. I might not post super often and it probably won't be super long posts but I hope to make up for it in quality. Because of what I've learned in high school, I'm not afraid to dream and have crazy goals. Therefore, I am the girl who dared to dream.
Starting high school was kind of a scary thing because I missed freshmen registration because I was at summer camp. I did get lost the first couple of days but overall the year was pretty fun. I got to grow closer to friends from middle school while also making new friends. I was in concert choir and also did stage crew for the show choirs. Doing stage crew was probably the best choice I've ever made. I had the opportunity to meet upperclassmen and learn more about show choir. Towards the end of the year, Mrs. Yoder encouraged me to audition for show choir. I was so nervous but I knew show choir was something I wanted to do and I figured if I didn't get in I would be ok with doing show choir just my junior and senior year. Singing by myself was not something I was very fond of and still isn't to this day. I suffered through my audience and made it into show choir, however, because Mrs. Yoder believed in me, even though I sort of lacked some confidence.
During my sophomore year, show choir was an adjustment. I also was taking more challenging classes. I learned that learning the choreography and singing parts was a lot harder than handing someone a prop or helping during a costume change. I was quite intimidated by our choreographer Jeff at first. During rehearsal I was often get called out because I had made a mistake or wasn't doing something quite right. Sometimes I would go home and not want to do it anymore but I never gave up. That year was the second year Starlights had won state! Winning state taught me that anything is possible with enough effort and belief in yourself.
Show choir really helped me become more confident as a person. Although I still wasn't comfortable singing by myself, I became more confident in giving class presentations and talking to people I didn't really know. As a junior, I was still in Starlights but also in student council (like the year before), National Honor Society, and often involved in art club (or National Art Honor Society). I liked being in National Honor Society because it gave me the chance to volunteer more with church, like in GEMS and with the younger kids, and with other organizations too.
I felt more comfortable with show choir during my junior year which made it more enjoyable and I knew more people in the group. That year we were first runner up at state and we weren't behind by that much! As a junior, you start to think more about college and what you want to do with your life. I had always planned on being a teacher and started to consider psychology or counseling as a minor. But as I started to look into colleges I decided I wanted to do some sort of ministry and travel the world.
As a senior, I decided to go to Grace College and major in Educational Ministries and minor in Intercultural Studies. I found a way to combined everything I wanted to do. I hope to teach in other countries and teach others about God's amazing love all over the world. I'm trusting in him to guide me in the right path and give me the opportunities I need to succeed.
My senior year of show choir was definitely more challenging than the year before. There were more new girls than past members and it took us awhile to become more solid in our show. The week of our first competition many of us experienced members began to think that winning state was most likely not going to happen. Even winning a regular season competition didn't look like it would be very likely to happen. I remember praying so hard that we would soon have our "wake up" moment and the show vision would fall into place. In the middle of the season, after quite a few changes, we had our moment. The last few competitions went amazing! Finally state finals arrived and after we performed, we all knew that we left our absolute best on the stage! We walked into the auditorium to watch Fairfield's choir, still in costume because we had just performed, and what happened next was possibly my favorite show choir memory ever. As we walked in as a group to find seats, almost everyone stood up and clapped for us. I knew in that moment that we had a very good chance at winning state. In that moment I also knew that hard work and dedication truly does pay off. Confidence and faith also can make anything possible. Although I knew we did super well, awards was a nerve racking time. Once I knew we made it into the top five, I was happy. Top five seemed like such a huge accomplishment compared to where we started, let alone making it into the top three! We had won best vocals but that was the only caption award so I became a little more nervous. When the second place winner was announced and I knew we had won state, I began to cry. I was so happy because we had did it and everything worked out amazing in the end. All of our long rehearsal hours and hard work paid off and it was the best feeling.
I know now because of this that anything is possible. Anything you want to do in life, any goal or achievement you want to attain, it is all possible not matter what. Some other things I've learned in high school is that it doesn't matter what anyone thinks of you, as long as you know what kind of person you are and you are happy with yourself no one else's opinion matter. Losing friends is no big deal because eventually you will make new ones and if they are really your friend they will stay with you. Doing bad on one assignment, or even two, is not that much of a big deal. You will still get into college if you don't have all A's and B's on your report card. Being true to yourself is important. Don't change your likes/dislikes or morals because of someone else's who you might admire.
And most importantly, be happy with who you are. Some days you might feel insecure and other days you'll feel super confident. But you need to learn to love who you are and only change something for the good. Someone else might seem cool doing something but if it's not helping you or someone else become a better person why do it? The world is in need of good people and anyone has the potential to become one, no matter what their background is or what kind of person they are now. People say high school is the best four years of your life and while they have been a huge learning experience I would say the best is yet to come. High school sets you up for the best years of your life and gives you the tools to make your whole life the best years. You learn to get through the hard times and boast in the good times.
I hope to keep this blog going throughout college and in my whole lifetime to share my experiences and life lessons I've learned. I might not post super often and it probably won't be super long posts but I hope to make up for it in quality. Because of what I've learned in high school, I'm not afraid to dream and have crazy goals. Therefore, I am the girl who dared to dream.
It has been amazing to watch you blossom over the last four years! Blessings as you begin college!
ReplyDeletePastor Dave