One Year Left

I was homeschooled through the fifth grade, and at the time, I enjoyed it for the most part. The thought of going to a real school did interest me, but I was so shy when I was younger that I decided I'd rather stay at home. I got to wake up whenever, eat breakfast and do math at the same time, no deadlines or caring about how I looked or real schedules. My mom was my teacher, my dining room was my school, and that's how I learned until I was about eleven. 
It was fine. It was a working system. 
But I wasn't happy. 

The main stereotype of homeschoolers is that they don't socialize, and in my case, that definitely was not true! I had friends, and my parents always gave me time to spend with them every week. I took dance classes and a writing class every week. But I was so shy. And I'm not blaming that on homeschooling, that's just how I was. I was a little mouse. 
I was a mouse, living inside a little bubble. I had friends, but was too shy to branch out. I kind of lived in my own little world. 

And then my parents decided to put me in a small, private, Catholic school when I was going into the sixth grade. And I did NOT want to go. I was fine with my little bubble. I didn't want to meet new people, I didn't want to get up early, I didn't want to go to school. I didn't want to. But I did. And I still remember my first day, awkward little me, trying to figure out what the next seven years of my life were going to be like as I went through middle school and high school. 
Little eleven year old me, who lived in a bubble, was branching out. I met my classmates, who now I can't imagine life without. I was forced to pop my little bubble against my will, but it turned out to be one of the best things to have ever happened to me. 

Because I go to this small school, I know so much. I loved being taught by my mom, but going to this school with teachers who have specialized in different academic areas has given me so many learning opportunities. I aced my SAT essay because my school has given me opportunities to practice time-pressured essays. My teachers take the time to help me if I need it. I schedule tutoring sessions with them whenever I don't understand the material, and since classes are so small, it feels like we all get special attention from our teachers. They care about each of us and want to watch us succeed. 

I grew, going to this school. I've learned more about myself. I discovered my love of writing at this school. I've grown in my faith, I've gotten to know and love God more.

But the part of this school that has impacted me the most is my classmates. We've been described my many as the closest-knit class on campus, with only eighteen in the grade. And I don't deny that. We do so much together and I love them all like siblings. 

I was shy. I was scared of the world. But having the opportunity to go to this school through middle and high school was the best thing that's ever happened to me in my seventeen years of life because I've learned how to be a good Christian, face obstacles, and love every second of life God has given me. 

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I wrote this a few months ago, and decided it would be appropriate to post at the end of the year. Yesterday was my last day of school for Junior year. And now I'm sitting at the laptop, Blogger open on one page, and my college application on another. 

This year beat me up. It was hard and stressful, but I grew this year and I learned a lot and I've finished the year with good grades. I did well on my SATs, I wrote my first thesis, I took an AP English class, and I survived Chemistry. It was a crazy, quick, blurry year. 

And now my Junior year is over. I'm going to be a Senior. I'm going to be executive student council with some of my best friends. 

One year left.