By Connor Loughran ’15

My grades weren’t the best freshman and sophomore years. In fact, I had to go to summer school for Algebra II my sophomore year. However, I learned more than math that summer. I learned that there are consequences for not taking responsibility, and because I put in my best effort in summer school, I learned that hard work really does pay off. Sure it may seem cliché, but it’s true.

Yet that wasn’t the only lesson I learned in high school. I also learned that having good friends who not only care about you, but want you to succeed, will actually help you succeed. If it weren’t for my best friend who advised me on course selection and urged me to challenge myself during my junior year, and without the help from the countless teachers who worked tirelessly to help me through high school, I may not have taken or been able to take the classes that truly interested me.

Through all this, I learned to challenge myself and take risks. Without taking risks, I wouldn’t have taken Journalism my junior year and found out that I love writing news articles. Without taking risks, I probably wouldn’t have found something that I’d like to do in the future. And if I had not tried to do my best my junior and senior years, I might not have improved my overall GPA enough to get into college. Maybe I just got lucky, but I don’t think that’s the case. I honestly believe that through hard work and taking responsibility for myself, I got to where I am today.