by Czarinah Galve, Staff Writer
7 months ago my first and only year of (in person) high school began. I remember feeling scared and overwhelmed with my classes, and the stories I’d hear about teachers, but I also wanted to experience a normal high school year. I looked forward to seeing my friends and meeting new people.
For the first 3 years of high school, I was doing online school. At the time, it’s what worked best with my family and our different schedules. I had 2-6 classes a day, but typically I would only have 2 days out of the week where I’d have to attend all my classes. The rest were off-days with homework, or a once-a-week meeting for a class.
Even though it was a pretty nice schedule, for my senior year, I really wanted to experience what normal high school was like, and also end this milestone with my friends. I didn’t want to graduate with people who I only knew through their Zoom usernames.
But my time being in person at Galileo hasn’t been everything I thought it would. I feel like I haven’t met my own expectations as a senior student. It’s not something I’m proud of because I know I’m capable of more than what I show, but I guess my transition from online to in person school wasn’t as smooth as I’d thought it’d back in the Fall.
I struggled a lot with maintaining a good attendance record and turning in my assignments on time. I felt as though I needed mental-health breaks but my repeated mistake was getting too comfortable with it and ending up slacking too much. On top of that, my physical health was also not good. It came to a point where I’d go to school to push myself, even when I was visibly sick and unwell. There were hospital visits along the way, but thankfully, I was able to get better for some time and even if I got sick again, it wouldn’t be too bad.
Along with that, I miss a ton of assignments. Usually, I would be able to turn them in after a couple days. But I can’t help feeling embarrassed whenever I’d ask what I’ve missed. I know for myself I ask a lot about missing work and if I can still turn them in, and on most occasions, I would be able to.
When I was in online school, I never really had to talk to anyone for anything. I had recordings of my classes in case I had to go back and relearn a few things, or watch a step-by-step tutorial for any projects/assignments I had. At the same time, I actually didn’t like emailing my teachers, I’d prefer to take a long time with rewatching their classes than to just ask them a question they can answer right away.
However, this year, I had to suck it up and talk to my teachers. It sounds like I’m afraid of speaking to others, but in all honesty, I just have a fear of falling behind or I feel incompetent when I have to ask questions, and if I were to say it aloud, it becomes more real. But thankfully, my teachers never made me feel that way.
Looking back, I can see I’ve lost enthusiasm and lost track of what I’m responsible for. Having understanding teachers has definitely helped. I feel, in exchange for their generosity, I owe it to them to show a little more effort. In the process, I’ve learned to be a better communicator, I’ve also realized consistency is the key to success.
Ending the year with pressure I put on myself, I only hope to keep going and do my best to reach my academic potential, especially in the future.
