A Look Back at 10th Grade

Now that this school year is over, I can look back on it in a somewhat subjective way. While I'm not done with 10th grade yet, and really won't be until probably the end of July, my mom is off work for the summer (she works at a community college), and to me that means the end of the 2013-2014 school year.

This year was a challenging one in many ways. I have been sick in some way nearly the whole year. I had a horrible sore throat think for a week over Thanksgiving, I had a coldish thing that lasted most of the winter, and then I have what I think is whooping cough for all of March and April, and half of May. I've also been starting to deal with my asthma.

When I think about how sick I've been this year, and how much of that time I really didn't get any work done, I don't feel as bad about having a month's work left at this point. I've also had a lot of stress and depression I've dealt with this year, relating to school, illness, and other ongoing personal issues that I need to deal with.

On the other hand, this year has had a lot of great stuff happening too. Despite the introduction of boys and dating into our lives (or maybe even because of it), my friends and I really are closer than ever. I have the ability in our group of friends to run in many circles, teen girls, teen boys, younger girls, and even adults at times, and never really feel out of place. Through a variety of circumstances, I also feel like I've gotten a lot closer to all the people and families in our small group.

I turned 16!

I've done more Irish Dance, and gained a lot of confidence in my ability as a dancer. I really want to start experimenting with more types of dance, and I really want dance to be part of what I do in the future. I've started thinking more seriously about what I want my life to look like, and I'm finding I'm not really sure. For a long time, I've always thought that it was destiny that I would end up doing something involving writing or editing, but now I'm not so sure. This year, I've really found myself drifting farther and farther away from that realm. While I could see myself working at a library or bookstore, I really can't picture myself writing for a living anymore.

Dancing at the Highland Games

I've done a lot of editing, which really is something I enjoy. While I did very little this spring while I was sick, I've got a few rather large projects I'm finishing up for the author I'm working with. I've also started teaching Latin this spring to a small group of middle school age girls, which I absolutely love. I really like Latin, though I don't really have much time for it at the moment, and I really want to study it more seriously. I really enjoy teaching like this, and I would love more opportunities to do things like this. I spent a lot of time this spring working on the homeschool yearbook, which I think has been a success.

The three seniors opening their yearbooks, while the rest of us look on.

I read a lot of books, including Beowulf, The Song of Roland, and The Inferno, and before the summer's over, I'll have added The Prince and Hamlet to that list. For fun, I read A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and the first part of A Feast for Crows, in addition to many others.

While at first look, this year seemed to me to be a somewhat bad one, filled with stress, anxiety, and illness, there was much more to it than that. I've had a lot of great opportunities, done a lot of great activities, and been willing to try more new things than ever before. I have a lot of great friends, and we've had a really great year, despite the challenges.

Next year's going to be a pretty different one, in a lot of ways, but I think it'll be a great one too.