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A strong memory I have from high school is from last year when I took AP Bio. I have strong memories from this class because of all the time my peers and I dedicated to this class, whether it was studying, doing labs, or commiserating with each other over the enormous workload. We all went through it together and we could all count on each other, I never experienced any sharp competition between my classmates. Everyone had a positive attitude and wanted to help each other.

            I think that this positive spirit is so rare, especially in an intense class like AP Bio. I think what added to this was that we were never graded on a curve, which I have experienced in other classes, so people were never singled out or forced to feel they were against each other. No one ever had the feeling that one’s success came at the price of other students’ downfalls.

            I think that this feeling of unity is important, but so rare. However, in this class, negative thoughts never really crossed our minds, because we were all struggling to do well. Especially with labs, since they were done in groups, this encouraged collaboration not only with the three to four students in each group, but with all groups as we all attempted to complete the same task. We constantly talked to other groups to compare results, share information, and verify we were on the right track. No one was ever tried to just get the right answers without doing the work.  So, everyone was always willing to help because we all had good intentions.      

Though AP Bio was extremely challenging, the experiences I had in that class will always remain with me. I can always look back and remember the hard work, the fun times with my classmates, and the feeling of accomplishment when it was over.