Assignment #24- Ellis Padgett- My Year

Junior year offered me a lot of firsts. For the first time, I drove to school. I parked on the hill (poorly) day after day. It was the first time I got the lead in a Henry Clay theater production. When I was Alice in Alice in Wonderland, it was the first time I had to sing on stage for a play (A capella, at that). It was also the first and only time I will get little kids to revere me like a Disney princess. They all wanted hugs, and I got invited to a birthday party! 

It was my first year in chamber orchestra. The first day of class, I purposefully sat in the last chair because that's where I thought I would be placed. Yet I was placed in the first violins, sitting next to amazing violinists that I would never compare myself to. I also joined a mentoring program where I could help middle school violinists, where I met kids with a lot of potential. That reminded me of my middle school years, and how far I've come. 

Yet for all of the firsts, there were many continuities. I can say I worked hard every single day. I once again had amazing teachers that made my time in school worthwhile. I still say hi to Mr. Wise and Mrs. O'Bryan in the hallway, just like last year. And I participated in the orchestra lock-in once more (which once again made me question why I chose to sleep over at school). 

But the biggest continuity of all was my friends. It is hard to spend day after day with people, and we all have our dark moments. Yet I looked over to my couch over winter break, and there my friends were at our annual sleepover. I walk into classrooms, and they are who I sit with. Now that I am unable to see them, they are who I call when I can't stand my family anymore. Junior year brought a lot of firsts for me, but my friends were my biggest continuity. 

This year was really hard. I lost something very, very important to me, and it absolutely ate me alive. But everyday when I walked into school, I found more reasons to smile. 

Junior year has taught me a lot about who I am as a person. Senior year, I hope to figure out what direction I want my life to take. This summer, though, I really want to enjoy my life as it is- family, friends, and the little things I love- because life will never be like this again.