These past four years of high school have truly been a learning experience.

To me, high school means building upon your goals and aspirations. High school prepares students for the real world and the great thing about high school is that you will go through successes and failures, knowing that one day your experience will really help guide your future.

Some major lessons that I have learned are to create your own future and not allow other people in your life to control it. High school is what you make out of it, and it can go in either direction you want. The four years pass by very fast and you do not really realize that until you are a senior.

The things that I will remember most about high school are participating in after school clubs and activities. Also, volunteering at Astoria Gardens and McHenry House was a vital experience for me because it truly helped me to build upon my own character. I learned that you should always try to help someone in need, regardless of their circumstances, or what the effect may be.

Another part of high school that was very memorable for me were my summers. I participated in Decision Medicine 2012 and spent one of summers in Santa Barbara. I was able participate in these programs through the assistance of my counselor and teachers. I was able to make many long-term relationships with participants from these programs and the insight that I gained from these programs really helped me to establish my future goals.

One of piece of advice that I would give to my freshmen self is to not  excessively overload myself with too many activities. As a freshman, I came in with a very optimistic attitude and realized that in the end, it’s more important to find your passion and build upon it rather than trying to accomplish everything. If I could go back, I would have spent more time finding myself.

My favorite class in all of high school was physics. I really enjoyed all of the topics that I learned and the class was very hands on, which developed my critical thinking skills. Also, I really enjoyed listening to presentations from a Tracy high graduate and a staff member from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. These presentations encouraged me to think about my own future and what goals I want to set in life.

My plans for the future are to attain a college education. I do not know where my life will take me from there.