Restless. That’s what senior year is, mostly. I can be a fairly lazy individual, but this year I can genuinely say that I’ve been busy. I remember being told that junior year was the most difficult year and that being a senior was “easy,” but I can’t say I’ve experienced that myself. Taking four AP classes has made this year probably more academically demanding than any I’ve had so far, and demands outside of the classroom such as service hours, baseball and college applications have assured that while I am still afforded some idle time, I definitely don’t have the surplus of it that I enjoyed in my underclassman years.

Not to say that being a senior isn’t fun. I've had plenty of work to do, but the excitement of going to college is always present, and the familiarity of Saint Joseph Notre Dame and the friends I’ve made after four years here (well, more like three and a half) makes this year especially enjoyable. It’s been a fond farewell, not a time of mourning. While I disagree about senior year being the easiest year, there’s no doubt that it’s the most fun I’ve had in high school.

School, volleyball, homework, sleep. School, volleyball, homework, sleep. That's more or less been my life since the beginning of school. 

Sounds boring? You're wrong.

Everyday is a new experience. New faces to see, new people to eat with, new ideas to learn. Being on the varsity volleyball team has definitely been a plus as well. I never once dreamed of even talking to the seniors, let alone getting rides with them to practice or actually going over to their houses just to hang out. But this idea of high school has changed, as has almost every other thought I've had about SJND. Before school started, I assumed it would be no different than where I had been before, just another place I had to be, keeping me from everything I wanted to do. However, this year, school has actually turned out to be a place I wanted to be (I know I know, this surprised me too.) 

In every class, from freshman religion to honors biology, I'm being pushed and challenged. Not only is this pressure coming from my teachers, it's coming from other kids in the class as well. This is something I haven't experienced much of in my past years of school. 

Yes, of course, homework is rarely an exciting activity, but it isn't unbearable either.

I wish there was a teacher I could complain about or a class that I just can't stand to make this seem more realistic. But, the truth is, I LOVE every aspect of high school so far.