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       As I walked into my new strength-conditioning class, my teacher told me I looked way better and that he was proud of me. I had hated the class, as I found myself struggling with most exercises under the bearing pressure from my extremely intense teacher. Since he preached good form and I had no good technique in his eyes, he would critique me very harshly throughout most classes. Realizing his intentions were good, I worked hard in the class and did everything I could outside of it. At home, I practiced my technique on exercises, such as RDLs and squats almost constantly. By doing so, I saw myself get better and my teacher noticed. His approval made me feel happy and want to push myself to be better. Ending the year, my form and maxes were much better than the beginning. I still strive to reach higher goals in lifting, relying on the lessons I learned in this class and the skills I gained moving across the country.  

       Relocating to Arizona in the middle of my junior year wasn’t an ideal situation. I struggled with leaving my friends and the town I knew for most of life. The new environment scared me and altered my attitude towards my new classmates. With this refashioning, I began to lose interest in the things I used to love, like baseball. Although I had played the sport for ten years, being unable to play with friends that I had known for years made the game unappealing to me. The loss of baseball gave me a lot of time to reflect on myself. 

        In my free time, I thought a lot about what could’ve been in Virginia. Although it was hard to find motivation to pursue opportunities with this in mind, I decided to get a job at Subway. The feeling of work really helped my self-esteem, and after working there for a few months, I developed positive relationships with my co-workers. I took pride in my work, making sure that I left a good impression on my new team by putting extra effort towards each task. Work became fun, as I enjoyed talking with customers while I made their sandwiches. Over time, I picked up more shifts to become a greater contributor. With the increase in hours, pay day became a reward for the hard work I invested. 

       Along with working at Subway, my mom and I started volunteering at St. Mary’s food bank, where leaders lined up volunteers in assembling lines to do the work. Despite awkward introductions, it was on the line where I met others and found ways to make the process more enjoyable. While on the line, production would sometimes run slow, which generally happened when someone wasn’t preparing boxes fast enough. From multiple occasions where myself and others helped that struggling person to get back on pace, I began to build connections with new friends. Getting to know others improved the quality of my work and developed an excitement to return and volunteer in the future.  

       Moving to Arizona was the scariest event of my life. Thinking back to the last car ride with my best friend the night before I left still makes me shed a tear. But Arizona taught me valuable life lessons and changed my perspective on my future. It granted me the ability to focus more on academics, while gaining confidence on the social aspect of things. I believe moving gave me an advantage post-high school, as it got me familiar with the idea of change and opening myself up to people. This process has made me resilient and ready for the next chapter of my life.