The high school aims to prepare adolescents for father education and lays the basis of knowledge that will later be deepened and wholeheartedly embraced. However, the high school also provides numerous opportunities for self-development and offers challenges one must be ready to face. This maze of chances and difficulties significantly contributes to shaping one’s personality and forming one’s outlook.
The opportunities I have encountered in my school career allowed me both to develop knowledge and hone my social skills. From the academic perspective, I have had a chance to learn the subjects that have interested me and will hopefully be beneficial for my future career. This knowledge found its reflection in the work we did, where I could understand the importance of practical application and the way theory and practice are interconnected. Moreover, I have learned to work on projects as part of a team that was at the same time challenging and exciting. All teachers at the high school have been kind and understanding and willingly answered the questions I had. The experience I have had helped to deepen my academic knowledge and see how different subjects are related.
From the perspective of social skills development, I have had a chance to take part in many extracurricular activities where I have made many friends. Being engaged in one project with other teenagers has motivated me to ‘step into other people’s shoes’ and search for compromise where earlier, I would have strongly advocated my desired course of action. Thus, I have learned to be compliant and willing to see other people’s points of view. The sports activities I have undertaken have taught me endurance and helped me to keep fit. I feel I have become physically stronger and more agile.
As for the challenges that I have encountered, the main difficulty was studying online. Indeed, it is not so easy to grasp the material at home because one can easily get distracted. Moreover, sometimes I had technical problems with my internet connection, so I had to reload the program, thus skipping some of the teachers’ explanations. It was not convenient to ask questions online and I was left with some material that I did not understand. Fortunately, my parents are ready to help me with academic matters. The experience has taught me assiduity and served to prolong my attention span, so now I do not get distracted easily when there is some work to do.
The other challenge I encountered was a tight timetable that I had. Indeed, it was no easy to find time for all the studies, sports activities and spending time with friends. Often, I sacrificed one thing for the others, especially before the exams when I did not see my friends for weeks. Extracurricular activities helped me to develop my outlook, which is why I have engaged in many of them, and they were extremely interesting though time-consuming. The experience taught me to make the right choices and set priorities, the skill that allowed me to obtain good grades.
Studying at high school was challenging and, at the same time, exciting, and step by step, I have managed to overcome all the difficulties that I have had. I hope that the academic knowledge I got and the skills I have developed will help me in my further education and future career. I feel I have become more mature and ready to use new opportunities and embrace challenges as they come.