As we all now, our recent school year has come to an unexpected end and we are all still coping with this tough news. I went from a student-athlete— exhausted every night from swim practice, stressed with schoolwork, and drained of every-night sleep, to doing the complete opposite of these; nothing. I now look back at my junior year with  a new lense that I never before had. 

 During the school year I’m sure all of us dread waking up early every  morning and having other things after school, keeping us  from being able to sit and relax like we wish to. However, now that this wish is practically all our lives consist of at the moment, I wish to be that exhausted kid, always too busy to sit and relax again

Although so much of our lives have been placed on pause or even cancelled, this time has given me the opportunity to look back at my junior year and remember all the new memories I had with some of the best people by my side.

Coming into the year, I was not ready for the workload it truly consisted of, yet somehow I managed it and can now feel accomplished and proud. Junior year, being the third out of our four years of highschool, flew by faster than any other school year, not only because of this pandemic we are facing, but because of everything we had on our plates to make us lose track of time. When I look back at August from now, I see growth, maturity, and realization. 

Junior year taught me that life does get rough. It will keep you up at night wondering if you are even on the right path, or headed for the right direction. Yet, overcoming so many struggles and setbacks, is the reason for my personal growth and strength.

It sounds cliche to say that time goes by fast, yet when I reflect upon my junior year, this is the first thing that comes to my mind. I have grown up always hearing others tell me this same phrase over and over, but I never truly understood it until now. 

From having the bestest friends to the most caring team, I was surrounded by pure positivity and fun. When I think back upon the fun times of my junior year, I remember all the cheesy jokes my coach would crack at practice to make the deadly swim sets feel a bit less depressing. I remember the night drives to the friday football games with my friends, blasting our favorite songs that always put us in a dancing mood. I remember the nerve-racking bus drives to our next waterpolo meet or swim meet that although was scary, was fun. There are too many moments like these to possibly list them all but in the end, this pandemic doesn’t  change my feelings towards my junior year because for as long as it lasted, it was great.