Assignment 24: Sofi Tzouanakis

God, junior year. How do I even begin to explain what has occurred this year to me....

A lot of things, for sure. First semester was stressful. I devoted much of my time to my studies when I was going through many personal struggles. It was certainly a tumultuous time for me, but my ability to deal with the situation and keep going through with my life was a testament to my growing maturity. And that's another thing. I've grown up SO much throughout this year. I have learned the meaning of empathy and compassion for those you don't know, something which was difficult for me to grasp while I was undergoing personal struggles the previous two years. I found it easier to blame others for mistakes and I refused to accept what I was going through, internally and externally. This year allowed me to pass this stage of denial in my life and accept my life for what it is, and have compassion, and be the most positive person I can be about situations I will never be able to control.

I've gained so many closer friends and have definitely been more socially active this year. I'm not sure if that affected my grades in any way, but if it did, I honestly could care less. The way I feel as a person is much more positive and refreshed with these changes. I would much rather be a happy person with a lower GPA than stressed, depressed and anti-social with a few extra GPA points.

And most importantly, I've learned to not care what other people think. I used to care so much. Honestly, it's ridiculous how much I cared, but that evolved me into the carefree person I am today. I used to be so insecure in how I looked, talked and acted around other people. I analyzed every facet of communication between me and others to make sure I was making the right impression. But once I stopped manipulating my true self, I realized how much more others liked the real me. And that's a great feeling.

I don't really know what I want for my senior year. I'll let fate decide for me and ride it's crest, but I guess I'm hoping for the most happy, fun, exciting, daring, crazy, and memorable year of my life up to this point. Class of 2015 is going to be great.