I walked into high school already having made the cheer team. I had already made new friends over summer, and I was already comfortable with the hallways and classrooms. I walked in my first day knowing other people from other schools, and I still had all of my old friends. Freshman year wasn’t bad as bad as I had heard from all of these upperclassmen because of this. I loved being a cheerleader and I loved having all these close relationships, which I had never gotten to experience before. I loved being a part of a team that was so close with each other. Being completely honest, I blocked out everything else I could from my freshman and sophomore year, so there is not much for me to say. That will make more sense once you are in your junior or senior year.

My sophomore year I had tried out for lacrosse and made the junior varsity team. After my first season, I fell in love with the sport. I did cheer up until my junior year, which was when I decided to quit. There were many people who told me that I would regret my decision quitting cheerleading, and who warned me that I could potentially lose many friends because of this. I came to a point at which I wanted to quit cheer so I could practice more for lacrosse so I could make varsity my second year playing this sport. It worked.

My second year playing lacrosse was when I was a junior and I made the varsity team. My junior year in general was one of the hardest years of my life. I had multiple family issues that were taking up most of my time, all while having to deal with my lacrosse season. I would not have gotten through all of it without the support from my team and having a goal set for myself to look forward too. Being a part of these two sports have been the best experiences I have had. I made so many relationships through these teams, and I have learned so much just through being a part of a team.

My senior year came and everything that I was worried about began to work itself out. I made so many new friends who I feel like I have known for forever. I am so grateful that they are in my life and I can’t imagine them not being a part of my life. I am now surrounded by all of these people who have helped me grow as a person and a student. I then got voted by my teammates to be a co-captain for my team this year. My team and I are 2018 OAA white league champions, which is one of the best accomplishments I have ever gotten to experience in my last years playing lacrosse. That was our main goal this year, and I’m so proud of my team for getting to achieve it. We worked so hard all season, and I’m so glad I got to see this team improve every practice and every game we played, ultimately leading us to be league champs.

Since I was young, which may sound cheesy, I have always wanted to go to Michigan State University. My cousin got into MSU, so I was able to go and visit him. Since then, I have been in love with the campus. I had began to think that I was not going to get into the school and things slowly started to go downhill again. I knew that this was the only place I could see myself at the next couple years and I began to lose hope that I may not be going to that college. Three days before the college decision day, I had been informed I had gotten into Michigan State. This rush of excitement that I felt after finding out this news I had never felt before.

My senior year was one of the best years of high school. Two main things I have learned from my experience here was everything happens for a reason and every decision you make should always be made to make you happy. All of these different experiences that I endured throughout the last four years here, have all made me who I am now. I am honestly grateful that everything I went through happened, because I might not be where I am today if I didn’t. In high school, there are so many people who are going to try to tell you what to do and tell you what you want: don’t listen. If you want to go to a certain college, apply. If you don’t get in, there’s a reason for it. Always do what makes you happy.