Senior Year: Halfway Through

What a crazy few months. It's funny how life attacks when we least expect it, but it's a time to learn and figure things out. Too much has happened between now and September, it would take quite a bit of writing to bring this up to date, so I'll try to make it as bearable as possible. Classes were all great for 1st Semester. I figured out shortly into the first term that Boys' State can count for Government Credit, which was great news for me, so I worked with my wonderful new counselor to get out of Government. My previous school counselor lived in my ward, so my family and I had a connection that sometimes came in handy. As luck would have it, my new counselor's first day at Viewmont (she had been at Davis) was the same day that I walked into the counseling office to work out this Government thing and I was the very first student. Since then, I've tried to keep up with what she's doing, because it seems that she has to deal with so many other students that never really seem to show any consideration for her or what she's doing. This has fortified my belief that going out of the way to keep updated with someone or just saying hi is a great thing, and it takes a load off me. Sterling Scholar competitions started in October at Viewmont and I thought, 'Why not? I'll just see how I do.' So I applied for Trade & Technical Education as well as Science, as those were the only ones I really had a shot at. To be honest, I didn't really expect to get either one, as the competition was pretty tough in both areas, but miracle of miracles, my name appeared on the winner list next to Trade and Technical Education. I went into the debriefing meeting for all the winners and found out what the next step was. Portfolios were due into the counselor in charge by January 25, which means I had a good 3 months. Being the good high school senior that I am, I waited until Christmas Break to really do anything, but I got it finished in time, and that's really all that counts, right? The next step is interviews, February 17. I've been practicing with the FACS Sterling Scholar winner, Dani Staples, who is phenomenal. I've worked with her in my Creative Writing class while working on our school's literary magazine (I'm in charge of the cover) and she has it together. I'm constantly reminded of the incredible, amazing, phenomenal friends that I have, and my family is even better. I think that's the brief overview of the last few months. Maybe I won't be such a slacker with this thing and actually keep it somewhat close to being up-to-date.