Wow!



This year went by so freaking fast, I barely got the chance to get to know everyone and suddenly all of them are leaving. Luke Maffett, Sara Sekelj (despite our little conflict earlier this year), Jamima Vincent, Wale DeSalu, Mr. Maddox....



So much has happened! I got a poem (which was apparently quite good), into the Inkslinger, made great friends on the Concert Choir trip to D.C., acted as the first (and evidently, best), speaker at a Catholic retreat that changed my life, renewed my desire to read, empowered my faith, met the first English teacher to ever pay me any mind whatsoever in the way of my writing skill, opened up to so many people I once considered enemies, participated in the Leadership Rome program, got back into Boy Scouts, made Second Class...and that's not even all of it. On top of all that, I survived AP World History in the two-year-long Tour de Schmidt (hehehe), got into Cross Country, got obsessed with Naruto (HELL YES!!!), became more open of a person towards people with different beliefs...



And all the new friends I've made, where I never expected to make friends...Aliya Smith, who thought I threatened to kill her last year...Alissa Schlossberg, who I thought I'd hurt beyond repair back in Middle School...Anna Forrister, who I never expected could be so open and funny a person...Jamie Vincent, who I thought was the most obnoxious and loud person I'd ever met until I finally got to know her on the D.C. trip...Lauren Renaud, who I felt was too normal to understand me (BAAAAAD ASSUMPTION!!!)...Margaret Hjort, who has been an inspiration and wonderful friend to me ever since I got into Cross Country...Owen Greeson, who I thought was too immature to be a friend...Mr. Maddox, who I never knew before this year, and helped me with my writing (and, indirectly, with my faith), at levels I doubt I would've reached so quickly otherwise...



The end is nigh. The school year draws to a close. The title of sophmore is soon to change...I'm going to miss it. I feel like each year I've been at Darlington High has been a year of great success of growth. Last year, it was a growth from the pain and loneliness that stemmed from the trials of middle school, and one of incredible academic success. Though my success this year wasn't quite so great, surviving AP World History is a feat worthy of praise, in my opinion...and I'm still doing three AP classes, two honors classes, and only one non-honors class (besides Graphic Design, which will be my tech. credit), next year. This year was a year of momentous growth...like a sapling surging into a small tree, and ever-growing still. I think I'll call it the Year of the Tree. I've branched out to so many, and grown great because of it. I'm beginning to realize that I need to take care of myself, and develop a strong foundation, because soon, I'm going to become an alumni of Darlington, and be on my own. I'm also beginning to realize that sometimes, it's ok to just kick back and relax, rather than work myself to death.

Overall, I became much more intelligent and understanding this year than I was at its beginning. I came to find manga--for the most part, simply Naruto, but now kinda branching out towards Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist--extremely entertaining, and have become more open to the beliefs held in other cultures as a result. My writing has increased in caliber...I'm now even more proud of myself due to this growth. The poem I got into the Inkslinger--Paper, Pen, and Ink--has gotten me a great deal of attention from both other writers and potential readers, and I'm not nearly so weak at writing poetry as I was before this year. I'm now much more tolerant of people with different view than my own (though I still have open animosity towards Wiccans, Neo-Nazis, and militant atheists like Richard Dawkins), and have become even stronger in my Catholic faith thanks to the struggles and persecution I've faced in that area. I'm now a complete Catholic, and have been feeling the new powers given at Confirmation at work within me and within my daily life. I've gotten closer to God and the person I was meant to become. And this--I think--is all due to English class. I've learned a lot this year...and I hope next year will be even better!