UjjawalM

High School Life
 For me, high school marks an astounding milestone of my life. I moved from New Delhi, India in June 2007 and started high school as a sophomore at Green Hope. I was blown away just by the fact of starting life in a new country, although, I missed the friends I had made since 5th till 9th grade back home. It was a drastic change in the school environment to what I was used to. I still remember the first day of high school as if it was yesterday. I only knew the English of an average 4th grade student in America and the feeling of not knowing anyone made me feel as if I did not belong here. I did not talk as much as I had a terrible accent and did not like it one bit. I acquired the identity of 'Jim' in my first period class on the first day. Mrs. Lassiter asked what name I go by? Not knowing how she would react if I didn't say anything, Jim was the first name that came to mind. I made very few friends, but I had no social life and no extra-curricular activities at all. A year had past but I did not feel like I changed much from the first day.

Junior year came along and I knew more about how the high school system worked and how to prepare myself for college. I took 4 AP classes and joined several clubs such as Science Olympiad, Key Club, Math Team, and Cary Teen Council. The work was overwhelming as compared to sophomore year. Differently from sophomore year, I made a lot of friends and had some social skills.

Summer after junior year was the time I changed the most. I took 2 classes at NC State where I got to know a few of my friends very well.

Senior year was the roughest, yet the most enjoyable year of high school. I had this crazy idea of taking 7 AP's, which, as a matter of fact, was crazy. AP Physics and AP English were two extremely challenging classes. I worked very hard to somehow survive through all the class as the symptoms of senioritis started to become visible. I took part in Science Olympiad regionals and came in first place in my event. I also took AP Biology, which is hands down the best class I've taken yet. Returning to class everyday throughout the year lead to many good friends and a ton of memories to keep. The final project partly failed, but it was fun regardless.

As one chapter of my life nears it's end, another is about to begin. I will be attending the college of engineering at NCSU. Sitting here reminiscing about high school has made me think of how I changed throughout the years. I can get along with almost anyone, I have some social life, the accent I had is almost gone, and my personality has developed more towards what I'd like it to be.

[|Animoto]