a-kendall

My High Years

High school has truly been a catalyst for change. I know that I will not leave the same person as I was when I first entered Green Hope. My first day of freshman year was extremely terrifying. Both of my older sisters had gone off to college, and I had no high school veteran to turn to when I needed help or guidance on how to navigate this humongous school. Luckily my first class made it all a little less scary and a lot more fun. It was theater arts one where we could act crazy, let off some steam, and just be ourselves. That class put me on a path of optimism and drama, but not the bad kind of drama, the good kind: theater. I took an active role in our theater showcase and auditioned for Pygmalion where I got a small part in the first act of the play. I met so many great people through that production and made some awesome new friends. Not to forget the friends that I had from middle school: my fellow cheerleaders. These were the girls that I went to Friday night football games with, had sleepovers with, and spent every other moment with. Those good times with great friends continued through the summer and into sophomore year. This year was where my transformation really began. I started to drift apart from my friends. I felt alone and lost. My friends became consumed with cheerleading, when I no longer participated in it once high school began. I would find myself completely silent and confused while my friends spoke about practice, tumbling, stunts, and games. Even when I was with my friends, I felt completely by myself. I resorted to extracurricular activities to broaden my horizons. I auditioned yet again for the fall play and received a much larger part as Maggie in the Bond. It was my favorite role in high school because I got the change to explore a character completely different from myself: a psychotic housewife who kills her husband in a fit of rage. Unfortunately my other attempts to participate in after school activities failed, so I only had my distant friends to resort back to. Let’s just say sophomore year pretty much sucked after that, and the summer only got worse because I got a job during the summer at Inside Out Sorts which is a store that specializes in triathlon equipment, and I didn’t know the first thing about triathlons. Thankfully that was only a summer job, and it was over as soon as school started for junior year. At the beginning of this year, I had made an ambitious choice to stop trying to rekindle the old friendships I had with my middle school cheerleaders and start anew. At first it was daunting to enter school with no guaranteed source of support, but I thought positively and met some of the best people I know just by being outgoing and friendly. The year only got better with performances in Shakespeare’s Clowns and Once on This Island. Being a part of the Once on This Island cast was amazing. It was my first musical and it was such an elaborate production that was truly spectacular from start to finish. Don’t get me wrong, there were some pretty rough days during that production, but I just remembered to stay positive and do my best at whatever I was told to do, and that hard work paid off because I was chosen as best ensemble member in a musical at the Dramys which is the chorus and drama banquet at the end of the year. Junior year also had some additional awards. I was honored with the title of first place in a sculpture competition for my piece wiry puppy. I also got the sportsmanship award for my recreational basketball team. Over all junior year was a complete turn around from my sophomore year. Even though the classes were harder, I enjoyed school more. I finally had everything in order for the perfect senior year. My final year of high school has been jam packed with plays, musicals, basketball, soccer, volunteering, singing, field trips, college applications, oh and school. Sometimes it seemed like there was too much to do, but some how I accomplished it all. Something that I had with me all year was music because I was honored with a spot in the concert chorus here at Green Hope. It has been so much fun being able to go to a class where I get the chance to sing everyday. Isn’t that awesome? Well, I think it is. I also received roles in several school performances: Les Miserables, The Hobbit, and The Wedding Singer. All of these shows helped me grow as a performer and gave me the chance to meet some awesome people who always made rehearsals super fun. Continuing on the fun train, I took advantage of any field trip I could go on, so I went on a Disney trip with my chorus where we competed in a competition which we placed third in, participated in workshops that specialized in Disney performing and singing, and had a lot of fun by roaming the park and riding roller coasters. Yet another field trip was a trip to Wilmington, NC that I went on for the second year in a row. On that trip we got the chance to go behind the scenes of North Carolina’s aquarium and venture through the natural habitat of Wrightsville Beach. This trip, AP Environment Science, and Marine Ecology helped me find a love for nature. Every time I got the chance to do field work in class and on these trips, I would get so excited which was evident when I would always be the first one to jump in and get nice and dirty. This unearthed passion for the environment has guided me to my true calling: preserving the natural world which has given me so much with very little in return. In all, high school has been perfect even with all the trial and tribulations of my first two years. It was those hard times that made the good times during my last two years. When I was in eighth grade anticipating my first day at high school, I never realized the four year journey that would begin on that very day. This school has caused me to change in ways that I could have never imagined. It forced me to become the person I am meant to be and prepared me for these upcoming college years both mentally and spiritually. I can only hope that I stay in touch with all the amazing teachers and friends that I will be leaving behind when I go to UNC Chapel Hill in the fall. Now I only have two more things to say. First I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of my life even if it was a grim encounter. You have made me the person I am today: an intelligent, strong, and most importantly happy young woman, so thank you. Lastly, I don’t ever want to say goodbye to any of you. I learned from my recently deceased Uncle Jeff to never say goodbye, say see you later instead. So all there is left to say is see you later class of 2012. We made it!

High School Years