As my daughter enters her junior year at high school, she muttered, “Let’s lock down and get this over with.” Even though she changed schools, she did make friends she and found her footing quickly so she’s not socially stranded. She’s committed to schoolwork and some of the senior courses are truly interesting; for others, she’ll grin and bear it. But for the most part, she is intellectually challenged. Her focus is elsewhere because she knows that high school is not the end game; it is only a springboard to something (and somewhere) else as she reflected on the past two years.
In her own words, Grade Nine was an eye opener. The world expanded and her liberties also grew proportionally. Her responsibilities to our household, to her part-time job and of course, her ongoing extracurricular commitments took on great demands. Her interactions with her peer group and her boyfriend also increased manifold. In retrospect, she summed up the entire year with two words: distracting and squandered.
Her focus is elsewhere because she knows that high school is not the end game; it is only a springboard to something (and somewhere) else.
Grade Ten took on greater seriousness. Even the faculty told the IB student body that they needed to start thinking about their Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge and other multi-year core components. She learned ‘how to learn’ and took on ‘a structured method of inquiry.’ She had to ‘go deep’ and try to generate independent and unique thinking. Lost and scared were two words that came to her.
But at the entrance of Grade Eleven, all the previous disciplines now needed to be applied. It wasn’t just academics; there were volunteering requirements that must also be fulfilled. My daughter also looked at a refinement of her interest and started to really think about which college or university would advance her ambitions. There was also the SATs to consider.
All of a sudden, anything that didn’t move her forward was jettisoned. Annoying friends and pettiness were cast aside. She also became increasingly impatient at things that were mundane and unchallenging. She realizes she has much to do and not a lot of time left to do them. Two new words: lockdown and now!
It’s interesting to see this shift in her. This year will really set the tone for her senior year. Godspeed.
