When I was a sophomore, anytime I asked my junior friends how the year was going, they would always respond with something along the lines of “it’s like hell.” Maybe that’s why I was always scared of this year, as it represents a significant landmark in terms of preparing for college. Junior year is widely recognized as a pivotal juncture in a student’s life. It is during this period that one learns to strike a balance between academic demands and social engagements, tackles the most challenging coursework, and dedicates efforts to enhancing their college application.

Honestly, this year was difficult, but it was definitely bearable. The biggest piece of advice I have would be to avoid procrastination. I know it sounds cliché, but consider splitting up your work over the course of a couple of nights so you don’t have to pull an all-nighter when you have two assignments and two tests the next day. My second piece of advice is to take time for yourself and have fun. It’s high school and you will never get these years back, so live it up! I’m not saying to take it easy and relax all the time. What I mean is that you can’t work all the time, or you will eventually burn out.

Throughout my junior year, the hardest times were the days leading up to AP exam week. I was passionate about many of the APs I took, so finding motivation to study for certain exams wasn’t difficult. But I think the most motivating factor was the fear of college and failure. I remember nights when I was trapped in a constant cycle of worrying about the future; the only remedy was to focus on the present. However, despite all these worries, junior year taught me how to balance life and effectively study for tests, even with the workload from other classes compounding it all.

I would refer to junior year as the year of growth. Over the course of this year, I discovered many of my passions, taking classes that were outside of my comfort zone and challenging myself before other unexpected obstacles arose. The transition from sophomore to junior year was significant for me in terms of teacher expectations, but all in all, the challenges that junior year brought helped me grow as a person, giving me a sense of resilience.