Still Moving Forward

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On August 26th, 2012, I made a post called Keep Moving Forward. In it, I talked about my hopes, fears, and expectations for my senior year of high school.

Well, as of 6:14 a.m., May 25th 2013, I am graduated from high school.

*fistpump*YES!*fistpump*

So, I wanted to make another post following up on the one I made at he beginning of the school year.

This year, I read a lot of amazing books, learned about a lot of depressing eras of history, wrote many papers, recited WAY too many poems, and took another art class at the local college.

I did not get accepted to NET, but I was asked to reapply. I got a 27 on my ACT, but I'm currently not planning to attend college anywhere. My current prospects are: I have a very amazing art teacher who is willing to help me pursue art education without necessarily going through a four year college program, I have a resume in at the local newspaper, and I am going to begin writing a play for a community theater this week.

Although its tiresome to have tons of people constantly telling me what THEY think I should do, I'm excited for my future. I'm excited for where my life will go from this point on. I worked hard in school for 12 long years, and now, finally, I'm graduated.

I'm not by any means done LEARNING. I never want to stop learning. This world is very big and complicated, and I have only seen a small portion of it. I'm only 18 years old; there could be a great deal ahead of me that I can only imagine.

Once again, I have a sense that I am in a good place. Even though waiting and uncertainty are hard, they are building up my character and my strength for what I will do next. I am confident that I can and will do incredible things that no one can anticipate.

And I'm still moving forward.

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Keep Moving Forward

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Tomorrow, I start my senior year of high school. Every time the summer ends I feel this distinct loss of something really good and beautiful, and this year is even worse. Several good friends of mine are starting college. I hardly ever saw them, but now I won't see them at all. 

But c'est la vie. 

I remember reading  a poem in third or fourth grade about how everything comes to an end. Everything changes. "This, too, shall pass." 

Our lives are constantly changing, sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better. This year, like every year, I got excited collecting the mundane little school supplies even we homeschoolers need to get things done; floral mechanical pencils, a monkey-shaped blue eraser, a purple Ticonderoga eraser, a new pink pencil sharpener, paper, fruit-scented highlighters, and sticky notes with owls on them. 

But my life is changing. I'm getting older, and I might finally be moving on from being a little girl. I'm getting smarter. I'm learning more and more who I am and how God made me. No matter what stays the same, I have undeniably changed this summer. And things will begin changing even more as I go through my senior year. I'm applying for mission work in the fall, and taking the ACT to open up my options for college. 

I know I'm in a good place right now. I'm ready. As ready as I'll ever be. School is hard work, and sometimes it's A LOT of work. For instance; first day of school? Well to ease me right in, I get to read, memorize, and recite Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven. Wow. And I'm still working part time, so I have 10 hours of work along with five days of school my first week alone. 

This is an incredible adventure. My whole life has been an adventure. The more you move forward, the more adventures you can have. The more you can see. The more people you can meet. The more you can learn. The more you can grow. 

Changing, always changing. I know I'm probably going to face a lot of failure, uncertainty, and loneliness this year. But I plan to keep moving forward, to become the best version of the woman I was made to be, to follow God's will, and do my part to make this world better. 

Bring it on, Senior Year.

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