“What Did You Learn Today?”
If I had a nickel for every time someone asked, “Are you ready to graduate?” I’d be able to pay my college tuition in full. As someone who’s had senioritis since August, I can wholeheartedly say that, yes, I am ready to graduate. However, that hasn’t always been the case. It has been a culmination of the past four years that have prepared me up until this point. From freshman year until now, the aspects I feel that have benefited me the most are learning how to think creatively, be a true teammate, and comprehend what accountability really means.
Being a “freshie,” as my friends and I called it, was definitely not the experience I had pictured in my head. I imagined it to be like you see on TV where I would walk in the front doors with my friends, and my hair would be blowing in the wind. I came to a rude awakening the second I met Mr. Cook, who is the Freshman physics teacher. He’s the opposite of what one would call a “cookie-cutter teacher.” He taught me several things; none of which were science related, of course, but were good life lessons. One of the most valuable things he taught me was how to think creatively. My favorite memory from his class was when we got to build miniature rockets out of materials that we found around the classroom. This project really made me think outside of the box and made me use parts of my imagination I didn’t even know existed. Mr. Cook is one of those people who you either really like or you really hate. He is very tough on students and expects originality. So much so that my first rough draft for the rocket project got thrown away, and he told me to start over. At first I was obviously not very happy, but now looking back 3 years later, I understand why he chose to do that. He expected better out of me because he saw more potential than I saw in myself. Due to him throwing my rough draft away, it made me become more inventive and ultimately led me to creating a rocket that was unlike any other in the class. Mr. Cook could sometimes come across the wrong way, but those who know him know that he means the best and also brings out the best in his students. I am thankful to have had a teacher like him so early on in my high school career because it has benefited me throughout all four years.
As many high school athletes would know, it’s important to be a good teammate. Unfortunately for me, it took the course of my sophomore and junior years to understand this. I have been on the high school varsity softball team since my freshman year. However, my sophomore year I didn’t end up playing the position that I wanted. Instead, I was thrown into a new position that I had never played before. At the time, I took it to heart and thought it was because Coach Murphy didn’t like me as much as the other players. It wasn't until my junior year that I began to see the bigger picture. It wasn’t at all because Coach Murphy didn’t like me as much; in fact, it wasn’t about me at all. It was simply because me being in a different position better benefited the team. This experience truly made me realize that in order to be a teammate people are happy to have, I had to set my personal goals aside and think about the team's best interest. It taught me to remain open minded about playing different positions and that just because I wasn’t playing the position I thought I should be playing, doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t be adaptable and helpful to the team as a whole. This lesson not only applies to the softball setting but also with any aspect in life.
Going through my senior year, I have really begun to understand what “getting ready for the real world” means. One aspect that I have noticed to be very important is accountability. In January of this year I lost my father and grandmother in the same week. As one can imagine, I became very distracted in dealing with the grief of losing two of the most important people in my life. However, I saw it as an opportunity for personal growth. I could have let that adversity defeat me as a student, an athlete, or even as a person. Instead, I learned that I was accountable for the failure or success of my future. Unfortunately, sometimes to learn a valuable life lesson we have to face things that alter who we are as people. I had to learn to meet my goals, even though at times it was hard and I wanted to give up because that would have been the easiest thing to do.
Looking back at my high school experience as a whole I can remember being asked, “What did you learn today?” Today, as a senior with less than five weeks before graduation, when asked that question I don’t think about the calculus problems, the chemistry equations, or the English grammar lessons. I think about the life lessons that I will carry with me for years to come. I think about how I was taught to think creatively, how to be a teammate people are proud to have, and understanding that I’m accountable for my own failure or success, despite the adversity with which I may be faced. Because of the lessons I’ve learned throughout my four years as a Trojan, I can confidently say that I am ready to graduate and become part of the “real world.”