school's out!

Well it's happened. Yet another school year has come to an end, and yet I swear it was the first day just last week. But then I think of how much I've learned, and how different I am than I was nine months ago and it seems like this year has lasted a looooooooooooong time. It was the best year of the sixteen I've lived on this earth. Let me recap.

Last summer I joined the cross country team and started running on a regular basis, and let me tell you, nothing has been quite as lifechanging as that decision. Running was the first truly difficult thing I ever set my mind to doing. There were lots of days when the last thing I wanted to do was get up and go run three plus miles, eating the dust of the rest of the team while my family and friends were still sleeping. Some days I didn't, but more often than not I made myself do it, and that has been the best decision of my whole life. Because of that, I learned what I was capable of, that I was able to make myself do something that wasn't easy, that I didn't want to do, but that I knew in the long run would be beneficial (pun not intended). And boy has it been! I'm happier, actually in shape for the first time in my life, and I finally feel like I can do hard things.

Speaking of hard things... this year I realized that there is one aspect of science that I don't consider my mortal enemy, and that is chemistry. I've never been good at anything scientific and I've never liked it either, but this year I had a fantastic teacher who literally breathed chemistry. She was so excited about it that I became excited about it, and that is quite a feat I tell you. In fact, next year I'm taking her AP chemistry class. This is not something I ever thought I would do, but I continue to surprise myself. Also I think I've just signed my own death sentence. I like chemistry quite a bit, true, but it isn't easy. There's certain concepts that I just can't wrap my mind around, but that's all right. The most important lessons I've learned from taking this class don't have anything to do with the Periodic Table of the Elements or the molar ratios of each substance in a solution. The most important lesson I've learned is that sometimes it's okay to learn just for the sake of learning, whether you think you'll use your knowledge in your present or future life or not.

I'm the same way with my violin. I doubt I will play it much after high school, but it's a skill I'm glad I have and I don't regret one minute of the time I've spent learning it. This year I went a step further and decided to learn to play the viola. Violas are slightly larger than violins and they have a deeper sound. The switch itself wasn't all that difficult -- I just had to stretch my fingers a little further and learn to read a different cleft of music. What was hard was leaving all of my friends behind with their violins and sitting in what seemed like a totally foreign country -- the viola section. What I didn't count on was that I would learn to love the kids in my new section. My stand partner was a freshman named Isabelle who had the thickest, curliest, brightest blonde hair you've ever seen and I absolutely adore her. There was a foreign exchange student from Japan named Madoka who was so quiet but so kind to absolutely everybody. Then there was JK, the most amazing high school violist there ever was, (at least I think so), and Trenton, one of my best friends since second grade who I was able to get to know so much better. I didn't love playing the viola itself and next year I'm switching back to my violin. But I don't regret the year I spent learning something new, something different, making new friends and enjoying a different experience in orchestra than I've ever had.

The most important thing I've done this year though is develop a habit of reading my scriptures every single day. When I went to EFY last June the director gave us all a challenge to never ever miss a day, and I haven't since. Between my scriptures, my seminary class, and my prayers, my faith in God has grown immensely. That is the number one reason why this year has been the best year of my life so far. It was hard too, and next year will be even harder, but I'm looking forward to it, anticipating it, because I know when I set my mind to doing something hard I can. And when I do, I grow and progress, and I'm on the path to being the very best I can be.