#24: I Should've Listened to Them: Kelly Landry

     Junior year. I can't accurately describe how much harder it was than I thought it would be. This difficulty isn't rooted in anything specific, just a mild prolonged existential crisis. Everyone always said "junior year is definitely the worst" and I completely disregarded it thinking "I haven't been involved in really any cliche high school drama, I'm probably the most confident in myself I've been in years, and I still have one more year, surely it won't be that much worse." But there was/is more than that. This school year has been my busiest ever, I've become a student intern at my church, I became highly involved in several different things- I'm on the leadership team of Henry Clay's FCA, I'm a leader of the HC UNICEF club, and I'm on the HC lacrosse team. I'm the kind of person that when I truly care about something I'm all in, I will work for hours on plans and details and improvement. Especially during second semester (before corona cancelled life) I had tasks and responsibilities literally every single day of the week, I was starting to get burnt out. I still loved everything I was doing but as an introvert I wasn't "recharging" enough. Not only was I incredibly busy but I am dealing with more personal matters, my best friend (a super cheesy term but I can't think of a better way to word that concept) is currently a senior in high school and goes to a different school so I don't get to see her nearly as much as we want. Because she's graduating all-too-soon I wanted to really make the most of the rest of the time we're living in the same state and city. However our busy schedules and now quarantine have essentially taken away a lot of our remaining time.
     Despite these struggles there have also been an abundance of great things about junior year. I literally love driving myself to school because it gives me a chance to just think and listen to music. I have gotten way closer with a lot of people I didn't think I would be close with. My busy schedule and now even quarantine have given me a lot of opportunities such as developing friendships in different spheres of my life, exploring hobbies/interests, and doing things I've put off for a while.
     It's been both harsh and incredible. I think I'm ready for senior year. I'm dedicating senior year to living life to the fullest extent of joy I can.