Personal Narrative: My Degree In High School

In high school I was a huge go-getter. Apple Valley High School drove in our heads “get involved, get involved, get involved” and I took that to heart. My freshman year I did everything. I was in student council, basketball, lacrosse, band, speech, math team, flute ensemble, pep band, FCA, etc. I continued most of those activities throughout the rest of high school. Some things changed, like I joined National Honors Society, cross country, and the fall musical but was unable to continue with basketball (yet still managed) and math team because I lost interest. I loved being the student who was super involved, taking all the challenging classes and being at the top of the class. My senior year, however, was lower than where I set myself up my first few years. After I tore my ACL in May of my junior year, I noticed that the rehabilitation process was going to be a long road that required a lot of time and effort to get back to full strength. I had to stop doing some activities in order to spend more time in the training room. That year, I also took less AP courses than my junior year so I could be less stressed and free to do things I couldn’t in the past. This turned out to be very beneficial for me. It was nice

This award honors students who go above and beyond in the three A’s: Academics, Arts, and Athletics. Being very involved, I wanted to achieve this goal by my senior year. It was something that motivated me through the long nights of homework and practices. After tearing my ACL, I made myself take a step back and focus on what was best for me both physically and mentally. I could still be the “AAA student” and not be involved in every activity. It was very rewarding and humbling to be bestowed the honor by both my school and the state later that year. It felt good that four years of hard work paid