Allison Bower

Class of 2025 sophomore section at the first pep rally of the 2022-2023 school year!

My sophomore year was full of love and laughter, hard work and heartbreak, days where I couldn’t stop crying, and days where I wouldn’t stop laughing. Sophomore year consisted of more than just schoolwork and tests, it gave me new love and helped me make better friends. Not only did I expand my knowledge in academics but also in life.

Just for a little backstory, freshman year was a hard year for me academically and socially. I made bad friendships with terrible influences which not only cost me my GPA and academics but took a lot out of me emotionally. Feeling like you need to fit in and do what your friends are doing was a horrible mindset to have coming into high school. Falling into the trap of drugs and mental illness took a large toll on my school life to the point that I ended my school year failing all my classes and going into sophomore year with a 1.0 GPA. However, this essay is not about my hardships from freshman year but the way I flourished during my sophomore year.

Having left my old friends and building a new mindset for myself, I came into my sophomore year with high expectations for myself and success in my life. About four months into the school year, I met a wonderful boy who led me away from the toxic and unhappy relationship I had been stuck in for eleven months. He gave me a taste of true love and happiness. After ending my old relationship and working on myself, two months later he asked me to be his girlfriend. He inspires me so much, by the way he works hard in school to get the best grades he can and outside of school where he would go out of his way to make me smile. Having met this man gave me a new outlook on life and everything would fall into place shortly after.

I knew coming into my sophomore year that I would have to work ten times harder to make up for my failures from the previous year. I tried my best to keep up in my classes and eliminated any distractions that would only hold me back from my full potential. Due to this dedication and a new desire to be successful, I was able to end my sophomore year with a 3.39 current year weighted GPA. I brought up my cumulative weighted GPA to a 2.0 which means I am now able to graduate with my class of 2025. This has not only motivated me to work harder for my schooling but even has me writing essays in the summer to join a class I know will help me succeed.

Moving past love and academics, one of the biggest changes I made this year was the people I surround myself with. Leaving old friends that did nothing but knock me down and suck the life out of me and making new friends that inspired me to work even harder. It really made me realize that you need good people who have good intentions for you and your life to be around you and help you when you need it the most. Spending my summer with my new friends, like Ms.Harms, has made my summer enjoyable and exciting.

Learning the value of hard work has been a very important lesson for me to learn this year. Making my own money and gaining new responsibilities has made me a better person overall and helped me prepare myself for life after high school. Starting my first real job merely a month after turning sixteen has allowed me to spoil myself with clothes and beauty supplies, but has also allowed me to prove to my parents that they can trust me and bless me with new opportunities. They gifted me with a new car and have given me the responsibility to help them financially with my car insurance. This really shows me the value of money and gives me a little insight for when I get older and have to pay for much more than just car insurance. I am deeply grateful for my amazing parents who have truly blessed me with anything and everything I could ever want and need and for the hard work they do for my family and me. They have been there for me for everything and I could never repay them, not even with all the hairs on my head.

I am now into my Junior year and I will not underestimate the lessons I have learned so far and will carry them on with me for as long as I live. I am excited for what the universe has in store for me and I am ready to begin my Junior year with a better mindset and new ways to build a successful life for myself.