With the year coming to a close, looking back on my junior year here at Los Osos High School is delightful to say the least.
Despite only transferring here from Rancho Cucamonga High School this same year, I feel as though I’ve been a Grizzly my entire high school career. The welcoming environment, teachers, wide variety of classes, and the angels I am so lucky to call my friends have all made this experience unforgettable.
The week leading up to my first day at a new school was nerve-wracking to say the least. The year prior was a mess to put it simply.
But August 7, 2024, had arrived, and before I knew it I was walking in through the gates with my chin up. My best friends and my boyfriend were by my side and it really set the tone for the year. Everything was very new, intimidating, but exciting,
The first week came to a close with the kickoff dance which I went to with my best friend since 6th grade, Zaire Morris. We went around saying “Hi” to everyone, or she did; I didn’t know anyone yet.
While we were sitting at In-n-Out after the dance, waiting for our orders I could not help but think about the possible opportunities ahead of me.
Since high school began I never found it exactly exciting, fun, or welcoming, but in just the first week at LOHS, I knew school could become all of those things.
At the end of my sophomore year, I decided to join the newspaper at my prospective school to try something new.
Then came time to write my first couple of articles. It was intimidating, having to interview a teacher, but once I started asking Ms. Austin my questions about what her experience is like teaching at LOHS for the first time, my ideas for my article were flowing like crazy.
The words just found themselves on the Google doc without much thought and before I knew it, my first article was published!
I was so proud of myself and showed it to all of my friends.
A couple of weeks later I was announced to be writer of the month, which felt like a huge accomplishment. Even though it was just a classroom-scale recognition, it was exciting and motivating and it gave me a lot more confidence in my writing.
Throughout all of this, football games, Halloween, and homecoming were all playing out.
The most memorable “Friday night lights” to me was the neon game. I went with a good group of friends–old and new, five of us, and just had the best time decked out in construction vests, face paint, glitter, and funny accessories.
We decided to get ice cream and french fries and chicken nuggets at Chick-fil-A and couldn’t stop laughing about who knows what. So many smiles.
Just before that, I attended homecoming!
Although the music that was played was a little questionable, and the Mario Kart was overcrowded, I had the best time with my good friends and my date. We got the cutest pictures and were so impressed with the fireworks show.
After that, Halloween came and went. Same with Thanksgiving break, winter break, and spring break.
Around November, I visited the Lecture Hall to attend the University of Redlands presentation. Although this exact school did not strike me as “the one”, it definitely opened my mind to what is to come.
At the start of the second semester, I began to look into what colleges I was interested in.
Before this, I had never had my “dream school” or knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. However, after seeing peers go through the process of applying and anxiously waiting and getting accepted, I started doing my digging.
I think this little detail may become very important next year at this time when I know what college I’m going to and I can not wait for that moment.
Looking back at the year I have so much appreciation for each one of my classes and teachers.
All of them were wonderful and I have legitimately learned so much from them.
But, one of the few that I think were most valuable and intellectually exciting was my AP Language and Composition class with Ms. Lemons. Although reading a book would not be my first choice in my free time, the material covered in that class, the moral lessons that came with it, and the writing practice and discussions to follow were all beneficial to me in my personal life too. Each time I walked out of that classroom, I felt a little wiser and had a little more confidence for the day.
This school year has definitely held the best memories to go down in the books. I intend to look back at this piece of writing as a diary entry to look back on as the years go by and reminisce on all of the positives of my Junior Year.
From old friends to new, challenging classes to new experiences, each aspect of this year has been filled with anticipation for what’s to come next.