With 300 pages left of the Poisonwood Bible to read and about 25 more advanced calculus questions to work through, I realize that my summer has come to a screeching halt. I should really introduce myself before I complain. My name is Emily and I’m going to be a senior this year. I live in a small suburban town outside of Buffalo, NY. I like to consider myself a normal kid, but I also think that some of my interests are unique. For the past 13 years, my life has revolved around Irish dancing. I started when I was four and became obsessed. I have traveled across the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland for both team and solo competitions. Dance has inspired and influenced my love of travel, so a good study abroad program is definitely on my list of must-haves for college. But enough about dancing.

Since I don’t want to bore you with all the details of my school life, I will give you the Reader’s Digest version: My life is school and I try to push myself to “reach the stars.” I’m not in a specific clique and I get along with most people. I am considered a “smart kid” because I’m second in my class. When it comes to subjects, my favorite is math—hands down—which is why I’ve decided to be a little crazy and take both advanced calculus and advanced statistics. I have a pretty heavily loaded year ahead of me, with three more advanced classes on top of those two. 

Throughout my high school career, I’ve tried to immerse myself in many school activities. One of the activities I’m looking forward to the most is Mock Trial, which will start sometime in November and last until our team loses. For the past two years, my team has made it all the way to the state finals, and as a leader of the team, I hope I can help to bring the team down this path again. Last year I was elected vice president of the student council. I play clarinet in our school’s wind ensemble, and I’m a member of the National Honor Society and the School Improvement Team. I do not take offense to being called a geek, nor am I ashamed of telling people I am still a Girl Scout (working on my Gold Award) and an enthusiastic member of our school’s Latin Club. I also play field hockey, but over the past two years, I’ve gotten two bad injuries (a broken nose from a ball and a semi broken knuckle from a stick) so I have decided to ease myself out of the sport this year. It will be the first year I’m not involved with my school’s excellent sports program, so I will definitely have to get some exercise elsewhere. 

This summer has been eventful and busy, with some relaxing days on the Outer Banks mixed in. I spent most of this summer traveling with my family and searching for the perfect liberal arts school—a voyage that took us as far south as North Carolina and as far east as Boston. While I was home, I hung out with friends, did summer work, and spent hours planning for student council activities and for freshmen orientation, both at the end of August.   

Along with these important pastimes, I was prepping for the standardized tests I’m planning to retake in the fall. I took the ACT in June before summer started. This was a stressful time because all of the state and end-of-year tests and two proms were all within a month of each other. I worked through the stress by first planning out times I could devote to studying and what I wanted to have accomplished by when. The greatest help was definitely a book, The Real ACT Prep Guide, which had info about the format and contained hints and strategies for success. I also went on the ACT website to prepare.

I can remember back to the day of the test. I had some butterflies, but I was mostly confident. I thought that the material to be tested was an even distribution of the academic subjects I had studied over the years (math, sciences, reading, English, writing). I was geared up as I walked into my high school’s gym—a familiar place—which had a divider up so the remnants of prom decorations wouldn’t be distracting. The exam was long, but not as bad as some other tests I have taken. I maintained focus by snacking on a power bar and stretching in between sections/during breaks. I received great results, but I think I can do better on my science section, which will bring up my composite score. 

So, as my final year of high school is approaching with more speed than I had imagined, I am trying to prepare myself for another year of learning and expecting the best year yet. I hope I can handle the stress of my school work, extracurricular activities, and college apps, and also balance them with a social life. I hope that as a leader of my class and school, I can help bring the senior class together and make it a year to remember. But as for me right now, the Olympics are calling my name….