This first year of highschool didn’t start off in the best way, as have many other years in the past. This year though, I took it upon myself to at least try to change that. I figured that, since I would know that I had tried and put some effort into it, I would at least feel good about whatever the outcome is. Schoolwork is not, and has never been something that I take lightly, even though I didn’t put as much effort into it as I should have over the last few years. This year, I have focused primarily on my classes and less on the activities that I was doing. It paid off as I got better grades throughout the year and I’ve been pleasantly satisfied with the outcomes.
I like to see myself as quite flexible when it comes to trying new things. I can adapt to most situations with ease, and I am very curious. I’ve done a lot of traveling ever since I can remember. I’ve had many unique opportunities, and I like to believe that they’ve all pretty much made me who I am. I think that it’s because I’ve lived in several countries. I’ve had to move schools, from a French speaking system to an English speaking system, and from an English speaking country to a Chinese speaking one. I’ve had to leave old friends behind many times as well as make new ones. I’m not the most outspoken person, I come across as pretty shy, but it was never because I am afraid of meeting new people, it’s because I like to keep to myself.
Of course, I was a swimmer on the side as well. I was quite motivated for a while, and the feeling of winning and having success in it was a big component to that motivation. However, my motivation was interrupted by several things. Everyone around me seemed to be reaching their peak, whilst I felt as though I was going downhill. I couldn’t keep up anymore. The competition became tougher, and my level was staying about the same. Another factor that affected my motivation was that I felt really uncomfortable going to training. As much as people did try to involve me into things, I’ve never had very many friends in the swim team. I didn’t identify as well with them as I maybe would have wanted. All of my friends were making plans and I couldn’t go with them because I had training. I was very unhappy going to training, and after months of arguing, my parents let me stop, under the condition that I start another sport. My dad had spoken to me about boxing for a while and he found this centre and took me to it for a trial. He had always said that he knew I was going to love it and it would be something that I would put a lot of effort into, and he was right. I have been going for about two months now and I am much happier, and I think, healthier that I was before.
This year, I have been thinking a lot about college and what I would like to do in the future. I have always been involved in art, and crafting things out of anything I could find in my house, and the career that seems most interesting to me at this moment is interior design or maybe industrial design. I have been studying a form of industrial design in my DT course this year and I really enjoy it and I want to find out if it could possibly be something that I would be willing to study in college.
I think that my first year of highschool went better than I expected it to go, mostly I think because I focused on my goals that I had difficulty achieving in previous years with more priority, as well as using my strengths in some classes to help me in others. I am excited to come back in grade 10 because I will have the same teachers that have gotten to know me and my strengths and weaknesses, so it may just be easier to succeed, rather than having to start over with a new set of teachers.