Dear Future Self

As my freshman year comes to an end, I can easily say this year has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. This had to have been my craziest year of school yet. Going into this year I was so scared because I didn't know anybody else coming into the school, I was scared of the workload and getting lost, and just being submerged into a whole new setting. By the end of this year I had joined the equestrian team who has become my bets friends and family, I have learned the school, got First Honor Roll, and just been super happy. I have been able to open up and put myself out there a bit more. Over the course of this year I have been happy, sad, excited, nervous, overwhelmed, stressed, and beyond all, grateful. This year has taught me so much about myself and how strong I am. I can really get through the hard parts of life as long as I keep fighting. This pandemic has also taught me so much. It has taught me to be grateful for everything in life. I have become more grateful for the little things like the freedom of being able to go into a store whenever, seeing my friends at school, and just seeing friends over the weekend. I will never take any of these things for granted again because now I know how hard it is when those are no longer options. This pandemic has caused lots of stress and overwhelming feelings. Online school seemed as though it would be fun, but after a week it feels juts like isolation. It is the worst feeling to feel as though you are trapped. It has been three months of quarantine and by now it is my new normal. I don't remember the feeling of just walking into stores, eating at restaurants, not leaving the house without a  mask, or completing school work in school. Online work is so stressful trying to manage work of six different classes with tests and all the distractions. I wake up at 8 am and don't finish till around 3 pm, so that is 7 hours of work daily that I wake up and start all over each day. I am constantly stressing and overwhelmed, but it is finally coming to an end and I could not be happier. I am expecting summer to be quite slow. There is still not much to do, but things are already starting to open back up. I am excited to just relax this summer and take a break from the stress of society. I am hoping next year is just a regular year wear we go to school and do work there, see friends, see teachers, and just be around people in general. That is something I would have dreaded last year, but that is all I am asking for now. This time in society is strange and it really has impacted so many people in different ways. We are living through a major moment in what now will be history that felt as if the entire world stopped to shut down. It is hard to describe the feelings from this pandemic. It is all about the question of when will it end and will life go back to normal? Nobody knows these answers, but I am ready to find out. For my future self, I hope you have made sure to never take anything for granted again. Live life in a way that you can appreciate everything that happens in some way and appreciate everything you have. Life is full of lessons, but don't let anything stop you or hold you back. Things can get hard, stressful, overwhelming, and tough in general, but if you keep going you will get through it. Keep your good friends and family close because they are the ones who will be there to help you when you need it. Stay strong and keep going.