An illustration depicts Editor-in-Chief Molly Harwell letting school stress and grades bounce off of her. Harwell learned a lot during her junior year, including how to be patient with herself through times of growth. “This year was the year of the ‘learning curve.’ I didn’t have it all figured out, (I still don’t), and I had to learn that taking the time to focus on growing and learning was the best thing that I could do,” Harwell wrote. Illustration by Antonio Starks
Editor-in-Chief Molly Harwell shares her experience with junior year and how she has navigated the “learning curve.”
“Just wait until junior year.” That sentence has been ingrained in my head since my freshman year by teachers, friends and upperclassmen. Each time I complained about workload or stress to older friends, the inevitable answer was always, “just wait until junior year.”
Just wait until junior year, they said, where the classes are harder, the drama is more intense and you have to start deciding what you want to do with your life. Just wait until junior year, where you’ll
feel like you’re going insane.
I kept telling myself, “That’s ridiculous, they don’t know what they’re talking about. I’ll be fine!” I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I foolishly believed that I had learned all that I could from high school already, that this new year would hardly bring any lessons of significance, but I actually learned more than I ever thought possible.
I foolishly believed that I had learned all that I could from high school already, that this new year would hardly bring any lessons of significance.
The first lesson I learned was to control what I could control. So many times this year, everything felt like it was spiraling. I was bogged down with schoolwork and extracurriculars and national issues, and it all felt like too much.
I learned, however, from the mentors in my life that worrying over things that were out of my control was pointless and would just lead to further stress. It’s not easy, and I still struggle, but I have learned how to dedicate my time and thoughts to things that I can directly influence.
Lesson number two: the world is going to keep moving forward, with or without me, and I can choose whether or not to move with it.
This year, I got my first “B” ever in a class, and to my surprise, the world didn’t end. Life kept on moving and everything was okay. I learned this year that failing and continuing to move forward is so much better than staying in one place.
I learned this year that failing and continuing to move forward is so much better than staying in one place.
Lesson number three, and probably the most important: this is everyone else’s first time going through life too, so be patient.
This year, I learned that not everyone is going to meet my expectations all of the time. Everybody gets angry, everybody has bad days, and I can’t expect them to be perfect in spite of that.
And I had to learn to be patient with myself too. This year was the year of the “learning curve.” I didn’t have it all figured out, (I still don’t), and I had to learn that taking the time to focus on growing and learning was the best thing that I could do.
From learning that I can’t do everything alone, to growing in confidence at dance, to absorbing the wisdom and love from the women in my life, junior year has been amazing.
So even though I spent most of my high school career dreading junior year,it was worth the wait.
