Reflection Upon this Year
2015 is almost over. Tomorrow is Christmas, and a week from then it’s the beginning of 2016. The fact that 2016 is just around the corner got me thinking though. I usually let the years pass by not letting there be a moment to think about what has happened in the past year- but this year is different. Maybe it’s because I am one year older, maybe because I know a lot more about the world around me, or maybe because this year has been one of the most important years for me. But whatever it is, I can’t let this year go without a proper good-bye, albeit it be a little early.
The year started off with parties. The class of 2017 was turning 16, and there were parties upon parties in celebration of the important 16th year. To this day I still don’t know why 16 is such a milestone, but hey, who am I to stop a good party?
January through March passed in a blur as I began studying for AP’s, going to these parties, celebrating my own birthday, and trying to understand physics. Through those three months I found out that I can’t be the best at everything, and nor do I need to be the best at everything. Physics was the first subject that I truly struggled with, and I never understood why. I am not the best at math, but I definitely was better than most, and Physics was literally a math class; yet, I still struggled with it.
April and May passed by similarly, in a whirlwind with AP’s and early finals. April and May taught me to work efficiently- work smart not hard. I am the kind of girl, that up until this year,used to read the whole textbook at least twice and read the review books at least four times. Overkill, I know. But it was something that I absolutely had to do- but with three AP’s plus finals, there was no way that I could do that without dying in the process. Those two months taught me to know how to hone in on the skills I am weaker at, while also brushing up those that I can actually do.
June started off with a little bit of stress (thank you finals week) but it quickly ended with the onset of what became my favorite part of summer- being a camp counselor. I think that definitely made me a better person, it taught me patience, respect, and responsibility in ways that my parents or teachers could have taught me, and I am forever grateful for having been given the opportunity to learn those things.
July was the month of completely living stress-free. It’s easy to forget what it feels like to not be stressed when you go to Stanton, but it’s definitely a welcoming feeling. I wholly embraced sleeping in, staying up till 1:30, binge watching old episodes of Friends, and constantly planning things to do with my friends. July taught me that it’s okay to have fun once in a while, and that I don’t have to be studying 24/7.
August. Oh, August. August, as always, is the month of anticipation for school to start, while also simultaneously dreading it. August taught me ti remember that life isn’t always fun and games.
September through November was just school. And friends. School and friends. My life has always been just that, but this year friends and school got a new meaning. Friends, before, included every single person I knew. Friends this year became a tight group of about ten people. If anything happened to our group, or to these ten people, I think I would die. School, instead of becoming a haven of people like me became something I dreaded on some level, every Monday to Friday. When I used to swim, there were these super tough drills that I had to go through; for those who swim, you would understand how gruesome 8 400 IM’s at 2:00 can be. There is a certain feeling that you get by the fourth 400 IM. It’s a feeling of, “Oh my god. I am going to die. I can’t breathe,” “I am never going to finish this” and a faint feeling of “Maybe I can do this.” I realized the importance of hope through all of this. September through November was also filled with a lot of Trump. I have hope America will not pick Trump.
December was filled with a lot of quality time. Quality time with friends, quality time with family, quality time with everyone. I loved it, and I remembered that quality time was important too.
I am a genetics, DNA, evolution freak, and one of the biggest things in the field of genetics is the idea that even the smallest change in a genetic code can lead to huge changes. A code that was supposed to be ATTGC but mutated to ATTGA (known as a substituion mutation) can lead to problems such as sickle cell anemia. The change from 2015 to 2016 is almost like that… Hopefully we all dont get sickle cell, but I hope that that one number change, that small minor change, can have a amazingly catastrophic effect on my life, just as this year.
So, goodbye 2015.
Hello 2016, it’s me.
