Assignment 24 – Dilni Abeyrathne

     Legend has it that Junior year is the worst year of high school, filled with stressful days, sleepless nights, and unexpected breakdowns at the most inconvenient times. Is it true or is it just a legend spun with the threads of fiction? Well, my friend, the answer to that question differs with each person. Personally, I found Junior year less than pleasing, in more ways than just academically.

     Of course, the Legend of Junior Year holds true academically for me. The subjects I took this year were by no means impossible to learn – quite the contrary in fact. However, the workload that came from such subjects, especially my four AP classes, bore on me heavily. Now, if taken alone, the workload from my six classes would be much more manageable, but alas, this year was also a year where I was involved in the most extracurricular activities I have ever been in at one time: History Club, the Catalogue Project, History Club Leader, EAP Mentoring, Sustainability Council, the list goes on and on. While I don’t regret being a part of so many activities, they have considerably burdened my workload with hours of endless labor. With my school assignments on top of my duties in my extracurriculars, the workload for Junior year has confirmed the Junior year legend for me. Though I have managed to complete all of my work on time, there have been days where I felt I would not finish, that I could not finish. I feel much the same way now, to be sure.

     Indeed, the stress of such a workload has afforded me little sleep at times. There have been several instances where I have found myself hurriedly working to finish all my assignments before the next day, sleep or no sleep. And inevitably, I get an unhealthy amount of sleep those days. I remember vividly, but certainly not fondly, a day when I was only able to get an hour or so of sleep. Yes, you guessed it: I was working on that important assignment for school. Being the determined person I am (or the foolhardy one in this case), I vowed that I would finish the assignment before going to the comfort of my cocoon of blankets. Well, that plan backfired. Although I finished the assignment, I had only slept for an hour, and it was painfully apparent when I went to school. In truth, I felt quite sick that day, eyes bleary and mind screaming at me to go back to sleep. My close friend questioned me on how I managed to focus in school with one hour of sleep. Well, I had no idea then and I still don’t now. Fun.

    That leaves the last part of the fearful Legend of Junior Year: the unexpected breakdowns at the most inconvenient times. In relation to school work, these were fairly rare. Unless my memory has blanked, I have no recollection of ever breaking down due to school work this year. However, in personal problems, my emotions took several hits Junior year, and in 2017 in general. While I would prefer not to reveal such personal predicaments, I can say that they have shaken my being in more ways than one, none of them good. I can recall clearly the terrible feelings that swarmed me every so often this year, and quite certainly, it reinforced the validity of the Legend of Junior Year. And that makes three.

     So, my friend, we see that I have experiences all three aspects of the fearsome Legend of Junior Year. But, that is not all Junior year consisted of. Though I felt weary and overloaded at times, I was, and still am, lucky to have my devoted friend by my side. Through the thick and thin of Junior year, we stuck together, supporting one another and helping each other up when one of us fell. For all of the less-than-pleasing realities of this year, I will always cherish that friendship. Even through the rough patches, our friendship held firm – and I am immensely grateful for that. If I could only remember one thing from this year, it would be that.

     Our unbreakable friendship.