By Christian Deleonmatias, Staff Writer
As a senior getting ready to graduate, looking back, there have not been any events in Galileo that have really changed or created something for me to remember. Throughout these 4 years, I didn’t stay in any program, clubs, or participate in any school events since I didn’t believe that anything would matter in high school. I had to realize in a harsh way that this wasn’t true.
In my freshman year, I was really focused on getting the best grades possible, deciding that I wouldn’t distract myself on my grades, to not slack off, and to ignore everything else around me, this included not having friends. I was really shy at this moment and didn’t know anyone I could recognize in middle school. For the most part, things were going as planned, and I was able to meet some of my classmates and was getting along with them very well. This sort of changed the way I thought about high school since I really had a bad image of high school, all insane and a disorganized place (which is still true but I hadn’t experienced that much in freshman year). All went smoothly before the pandemic.
Throughout sophomore year, I was feeling upset. I didn’t talk to anyone from my classmates that I had met in freshman year, which made me feel lonely. And staring through the screen all day felt exhausting, a cycle throughout the year that I felt stuck on. So I decided to work only on a few assignments because they kept accumulating and I wasn’t able to finish them on time. I thought at the moment that I was unsuccessful in having good grades and felt as though no matter how hard I would work, I would still fail my classes. I didn’t feel comfortable sharing all of this, so I kept quiet and didn’t tell any of my family.
Starting Junior year, I thought I would see some change in myself and an improvement as I would now be in school instead of a plain screen all day. I started off somewhat good, but I saw everyone else with someone to talk to, and it reminded me that I had no one I could call a “friend.” Sure, I talked to some of my classmates, but didn’t get any closer to them. And that kept going through my head, how alone I felt. Everyone who were friends must have known each other for so long, and it was too late to make any friends since I said to myself that there is only this and next year to graduate. I felt that I had to do everything perfectly, that I had to continue even if I felt lonely, even if I felt tired, even if I felt as though I was going to do everything wrong. I stumbled and there were only a few classes that kept me interested and kept my mind busy about all of this like French class and surprisingly, Algebra 2.
Now as a senior, I feel less stressed about all this. I eventuallty told my family and they all understood all these emotions I went through. It will be something I will never forget.
