August 8th, 2023. The first day of sophomore year. Wow, time has flown by way too quickly. I feels like yesterday I was preparing to go into middle school. I think I’m ready, I have everything I need supply wise, I made plans with friends of where to sit at, I know my schedule, I like my classes. But personally, I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to face all the things that I know I’ll be facing because it’s another school year, with more responsibilities to build up a resume to get into college. Sometimes I feel like very step in life is just so that I can obtain my goal of getting into an Ivy League. My elementary school prepared me for entering my middle school at fourth grade (it lasted from fourth to eighth). I went there in fourth grade, participated in Science Olympiad, asked for help from middle school teachers so they’d know me when I moved up grades. I got to middle school, I put myself in tons of clubs and worked to get the highest academic standing possible so that I’d get into a special program for high school. I got into the program, and I work hard to get good grades, keep up the extracurriculars, and do research all so that I can get where I want to go. This year is another step towards getting there.
I only have two classes in-person this year and that means I get more free time. But being me, I love to pile things into my free time so that I end up with no free time. I’ve already blocked up all my free time over the summer by planning out exactly what I will be doing. I realize now as I’m going into sophomore year that I’m okay with that. I used to feel that I was having enough time for just me, time to relax, time to do whatever I wanted to do. But as I grow older and I enter new stages, chapters, grades of my life, I understand that it works for me. I get incredibly bored over the summer because I don’t have as much to do, and feel like I waste away. I recently took the 16 Personalities Quiz and it told me I was ENTP-A, the Debater. I read the description, I was like, “Wow that is so accurate.” ENTPs have difficulty sticking to one thing because they get all these different ideas and jump on them, once they’ve done enough or have mastered it, they become bored and want the next challenge. That is why I am okay with putting more and more things into my schedule. Because I comprehend that it is just a part of my personality and I shouldn’t have to feel like me doing more and more is going to take away from me, because it won’t. I’m still me. I’m still Isabel.
This summer has been a complete whirlwind of adventures, big and little. From competing at a science competition to spending time in Japan to going on a scholarship program to Westlake University in Hangzhou, China.
This photo was taken at the end of Freshman Year. I have a tradition where I take photos of myself at the end of the school year to watch at how I’ve evolved and changed over the years. I’ve done this since fourth grade! I like to think the Isabel that left ninth grade was strong, confident, and ready to conquer the world. The end of the year was actually a bit of a struggle as I had someone who I had considered a close friend go around the school spreading rumors and trashing my name all so she could win a competition. I wasn’t even at school for the days following in exams because I was competing in Dallas for a science competition. I feel that despite the drama and rumors that see to follow, I am accomplished and met the goals that I had set for myself at the beginning of the year, prior to entering high school.
This photo was taken two days ago. New haircut and ready for the year to begin. I was worried about acne going into the school year because I’ve had acne for the longest and it’s always been something that I so badly wanted to disappear. The acne actually got worse when I was in China because I loaded up on milk and sugar, two of my acne triggers. I was able to find peace with myself knowing that acne doesn’t make me ugly or gross. I had to learn that an external factor like acne doesn’t make anyone any less beautiful. In fact, people tend to be more beautiful on the inside than the outside. So, as the school day of tomorrow continues to inch closer and closer, I think I’m ready to rock it and practice my skateboarding from school to the lab I now work in ;-).
