Sabiya Kathiria Week 16: It's All a Memory
It's All a Memory
Finally.
Exactly 9 months. 39 weeks. 273 days.
AP English Language and Composition is over.
It will, in fact, become a memory. In some ways, it already has.
It’s surreal how fleeting this school year--even high school in general--has been. The dreaded junior year felt long and grueling and tedious, but it also passed by in the blink of an eye. I can clearly remember every bit of the first day, from first meeting teachers to picking out outfits in the early morning. I am exhausted and burnt out, especially after these couple of weeks of AP tests, but, at the same time, I feel enlightened because I successfully completed one of the hardest academic years of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I will NOT miss this school year like I do freshman and sophomore year. But, I am earnestly thankful for all the lessons junior year has taught me, both inside the classroom and out.
High School is ¾ over. I remember in freshman year, after winter break, I mourned the fact that ⅛ of my high school experience was already done. Now, it seems trivial. To me, high school is such an important part of growing up. It signifies the teenage years, a time of phrases like “YOLO” and “No regrets.” Phasing out of these years is inevitable, just like growing up is, but I still dread it. The end of junior year seems like the beginning of this transition into adulthood, with the onslaught of college applications and all the “lasts” that come with being a senior.
All in all, junior year has quickly become a memory--not my favorite, but one I am sure to treasure for the rest of my life.
Hi Sabiya,
ReplyDeleteBeing done with 9 months of junior year is crazy. When we look back at our memories from this year, we cannot help but think how fast time has passed, and this goes for every single year, including our freshman and sophomore years. However, if I was to time travel back into September of 2024, I would feel the exact opposite. Time was going by so slow, and I would do anything to be where I am right now. Now that I am in junior year, with just a week of school left to go, I cannot help but dread the future me, dealing with college applications and crashing out even more in the first semester of senior year. If someone was to ask me whether I would want to do junior year over, I have no idea what my decision would be. If I were to go back, would I stop procrastinating on my English annotations and become a changed person, or would I go through the same grueling year of my life? I mean, three years into high school I cannot say that my habits have changed drastically over the years, so that is something to really think about. Anyways, I really like how your blog is concise but at the same time captures what every one of us is going through right now.
Hi Sabiya! Reading the amount of months and days that we’ve been in AP Lang was really surreal. I feel like it’s been the fastest yet somehow longest 9 months ever, and I honestly think it’s insane how we went from semi-confidently to (not that much more) confidently writing essays throughout the year. I agree that junior year has been the most grueling year of all, and while there were more hard parts than easy, I relate to you that I’m proud we survived the worst year of high school. Your description of junior year ending as something of relief and also of something bigger is incredibly insane to me because it feels like an awkward transition between childhood and adulthood. I loved how you showed the passage of time using fractions of high school–like ⅛ or ¾–because it made me realize how quickly the years are flying by. Overall, I really loved the bittersweet and reflective tone of your writing!
ReplyDeleteHi Sabiya! I like how you point out that in some ways, this year has already become a memory because it honestly flew by unbelievably fast. I relate to your feeling of remembering every bit of the first day of this year so much! I honestly cannot believe that it is already done; your sentence "The dreaded junior year felt long and grueling and tedious, but it also passed by in the blink of an eye" is the perfect way to encapsulate this feeling. I relate to your sensation of being burned out but grateful nonetheless---while I would never repeat this year even if you paid me a million dollars, I cannot deny that this year has fundamentally changed me. The people that we were at the beginning of this year, compared to the end of this year, are completely different. Your bittersweet final sentence is something I connect with deeply: this year has been tough on us all, and it broke all of us down more than once, but the lessons we've gained are truly invaluable. Overall, I loved reading your posts this year, and it was great to be part of your cohort!
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