The one blog post of mine that has stood the test of time was something I shared in August 2019, not long before I began my senior year of high school. I articulated all of my thoughts in that moment, expressing my weird mixture of emotions: anticipation, excitement, worry, and so much more.

Looking back at that post, I wanted to share some life updates and reflect upon how everything unfolded in this unconventional end to my time in high school.

One of my concerns heading into senior year was saying goodbye to some of my best friends as they headed off to college. It was really difficult at first and there were days where I missed them more than usual, but I think that many of our bonds are stronger now than ever before.

Speaking of college, spoiler alert to my past self: the college decision process turned out to be just fine! Through prayer, I asked God to show me signs and direct me down the right path. I also had a very strong support system made up of my family and friends. They guided me to make a decision that I could not be happier with. I am so excited to study journalism and mass communication at Iowa State University while also running cross country and track as a Cyclone.

Just as I had hoped, I also ended up learning plenty of lessons throughout the course of this past school year. However, the majority of these new lessons learned have been realized over the past several weeks during my time in quarantine. One huge takeaway from all of this is that I should take more time out of each day to express my gratitude for the blessings in my life.

Things may be incredibly uncertain right now, but that’s okay. We have all had to do lots of adapting while overcoming the obstacles that continue to be thrown at us. Of course I’m upset that this is how my senior year has to end, but that’s out of my control. So many people are dealing with much worse circumstances than I am amidst the coronavirus, so I should be grateful while still allowing myself to experience those feelings of disappointment.

For now, I’m realizing how thankful I am for the rest of my amazing high school experience. I’m truly blessed to have a place that is so hard to say goodbye to. It’s been an odd last day of high school, but that’s just the way things are right now.

This blog was something that I started the summer before my junior year of high school. In the span of just a couple of years, I have spent quite a bit of time trying to perfect this website. I haven't posted nearly as much as I had originally hoped to, and most of the what I did end up sharing I deleted shortly after. Things just weren't coming together according to my plan.

I have learned that this is okay! Like most other people, I am busy and don't always have the time to work on this creative outlet. From here on out, though, I will try to share more often without worrying as much about reaching a certain level of perfection in my posts. I think that's something that took the fun out of this personal blog that should ultimately be meant for my own enjoyment.

So, here's to setting a new goal of using this platform as a way to express myself however and whenever I want. I need to stop worrying about how this website appears to others and start focusing on what I think of it myself. I can't wait to share more of my thoughts and connect with different people in my life through this blog!

So far, this summer has been full of preparing for upcoming milestones in my life. Now that the first day of school is less than two weeks away, everything that I am about to experience over the course of the coming year feels very real - much more real than it ever has before.

Thinking of all that is going to take place in the span of the next several months is quite overwhelming. I often find myself pondering my future, curious as to what will happen, and when. There is a lot of uncertainty as to how my exact path will look, but that makes this time in my life incredibly exciting! I will only be met with more opportunities and lessons learned.

To put things simply, I want this moment in my life to be an amazing time of growth.

I know that it will be difficult to say, "See you later!" to some of my best friends who are leaving for their freshman year of college. However, I trust that our friendships will be strengthened, even though we will be many miles apart.

I know that being a senior comes with a lot of responsibility. However, I hope that I can follow the examples of my role models to be a strong leader for the underclassmen.

I know that everything about college (applying, committing, etc.) seems intimidating. However, I trust that I will choose the right place for me and will be excited to start that new chapter of my life.

Above all, I know that I am not in control of the obstacles that are thrown at me, but I am in control of how I respond to them. I have placed my trust in God and pray every evening that He will show me the signs to guide me on my journey. All of this mental preparation makes me feel ready to tackle some wild challenges.

Photo: Laura Duffy