Day: September 17, 2023

Big Step

graypenguinLeave a comment

The summer after 9th grade in my home country I made the biggest decision of my 15 years of life. It was the decision to come to the United States. What I wanted to do, was to get an education in the United States and go to college. I first became interested in studying abroad when I went to Australia for a week in 5th and 7th grade to attend a local school. I was shocked by the cultural differences there. The technological advances, the teaching styles, everything was new and fascinating. My parents are very supportive of what I want to do. I was very blessed with my surroundings, and I was a little sad to leave my school in Japan. However, I was more excited about my new life. When I arrived at my current school, it was during the Covid pandemic. However, my mother came with me to the United States. I felt sad to be away from my family, even though it was the path I had chosen. But more than that, I was surrounded by wonderful friends and teachers, which made me realize that my decision was not a mistake. I was sure that this big step would enrich my life.

pc: me

An Unforeseen Feat

godgoldngloryLeave a comment

This past Tuesday, the girl’s Varsity volleyball team emerged with a fortuitous victory in their first game of the season. Such a triumph was overall unexpected, considering the team’s prior readiness. As of Monday morning, a day before the game, the Varsity and JV teams were not specified to us, the players. So, on Monday afternoon practice, we got our jerseys, established our teams, practiced serving, hitting, and setting for the first time this year, and went through the entire lineup and rotation. All the while, our coach was mostly dealing with the JV team and helping them do bumping drills. All considered, the odds were not looking in our favor. Fast forward to the next day during the game, the first set we lost. That one was expected. Then, however, we unexpectedly pulled out a win for the second set. Maybe we were still in it….The following two sets were finished in the same order of which team won. Now it was two sets to two, and a tie-breaker game to fifteen points was ensuing. Compared to how we were acting during the first set, this was serious now. We had put so much effort into winning this game, we weren’t going to walk up our own hill to dinner in defeat. In an exciting final match to fifteen, we ended up winning sixteen to fourteen. We did it, when no one on or off the team thought we could. After a total of three long, strugling hours, we dominated our first match, and hopefully it sets the tone for the many rest of the games to come.

Closeup View Of White Leather Ball On Green Lawn Stock Photo - Download Image Now - Grass, Volleyball - Sport, Sports Ball - iStock
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Reflecting

leapingwaterLeave a comment

Since we have been back at school so far, a lot has happened. The first week of school consisted of meeting an incredible amount of new people from all grades, getting back into dorm-living, and and having an overwhelming amount of homework. There was a camping trip last week, and now we are just approaching the end of the second academic week. I’ve been loading my plate up a lot recently, and I’m not quite sure if its the right thing to do. However, this stressful-ish energy has been motivating, in a way. It’s exciting because it reminds me of how many opportunities that high school can provide.

However, I feel as if school has been rushing past me all too quickly. I’ve been to many schools in my life, and lived in many places. It feels sometimes as if my life is on autopilot and I cannot slow down. Only yesterday does it feel like I was scrappily coloring, eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwich that had been tossed around in my bag, and coming home begging my parents to have more time to play Minecraft. Now, I’m held up to a standard, where everything in my life is more complex.

I know, thats quite literally what growing up is about, but I feel like it has all gone by too quickly. I might never get back living in such simpler times, where the only thing to worry about was what color crayon I was going to use, but I will always appreciate and feel grateful for how those moments shaped me and led to me becoming the person who I am now, and who I will continue to become in the future.

pc: me