As the year slowly comes to an end, reflections, lessons, and long-lasting memories are forever instilled in people’s minds. So much has happened in one year alone, and eventually, people start to talk in the past tense about a year they are currently in. As soon as the snow falls on the icy ground, people start to remember the milestones they have gone through. Winter is a time to move on to a new year but still remember and value the beautiful memories of the past year. There are always going to be good and bad memories in your life with wins and losses, but every loss is learned and dealt with.
Many people had different experiences this year, People have gone to prom, adopted a new dog, hung out with friends, moved to a different place and so much more. The majority of people said that they liked this year more than the previous year because of many factors like getting to travel more, becoming older and getting new responsibilities, and making new friends. Mansib R goes to Little Rock Central High School and passionately discussed 2024. “My 2024 was amazing, and I had so much fun this year, it was a blast. It took me through a roller coaster.” He was a new sophomore at the beginning of the year and endured many challenges. Being a new student, especially as a sophomore, was very hard for him. “I moved to a new school, and it was hard for me to get along and have friends. This affected my daily life by making it hard for me to interact since I didn’t know anyone. One strategy I used was to, just like, break out of my bubble and talk to people.” He missed his old friends from his previous school and did not like Central High at first. 2024 was not easy for him, but he treated every challenge like a new opportunity to gain something from it. “Life is so fast and can change at any moment. 2024 was a roller coaster of emotions for me, but I felt a sense of growth and stability by the end of it.” He perfectly captured the feeling any student might have about moving to a new school.
Naomi Harsha also reflected on her year, showing lots of nostalgia. During most of 2024, she was a freshman, and she also moved schools. Since Mansib transferred to a different school in the state, Naomi’s situation was different from his. Naomi moved from Arkansas to Dallas, Texas, and she felt very nervous (accompanied by a rush of emotions) as a new incoming freshman where everyone seemed to already know each other. “Moving in 2024 has pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me adapt to something I’m not familiar with, and it taught me independence and resilience. I had to rethink what truly mattered and found a new appreciation for friendships and new connections formed. This year, in general, made me more confident and made me face something that I didn’t know how to handle in the beginning.” Her goal at the beginning of the year was to be a more confident and extroverted person, and she successfully reached this goal by forming new relationships with others and being a talkative person.
Anya C graduated from high school this year and is now a college freshman at Cornell. She went to high school in Arkansas and struggled at first with the change of environment to New York. “I would say the 2024 year was equipped with lots of struggle and growth as an individual. I would say that a lot of the new flexibility granted to me by my college decision made me experience different realms and people that I would’ve otherwise never experienced in my hometown.” As someone who grew up going to school in a small private school, it was an interesting and eye-opening experience to experience a world outside of her small community. She met new people from all over the world sharing their stories and personalities. “I would say that my experiences with different perspectives were definitely a large theme of my year, and learning to make friends with everyone to understand different perspectives was truly important (especially considering tolerance and including political polarization currently). Also, themes like resilience and persistence through obstacles were promising themes as the adaptation process to college with new friends, new food, and new places played a really essential role. […] So throughout this kind of uncertainty of switching environments and colleges, I was ultimately able to realize the necessary balance in life and allowing the uncertainty to guide me and further develop my understanding as an individual.” This year was truly an important and influential year for Anya, also largely considering that she was a fresh, new adult living alone without her family for the first time. She learned independence, adaptability, and other skills.
Emily C is a current FM junior who has been very busy this year. She talked about how “this year has been very hectic, and a lot has happened.” She took her first AP as a sophomore this year and was very stressed about it, but she ended up passing the test and studying very hard for it. “I took my first AP class, AP World, and it was very hard. I just worked really hard.” She had to be a very good student and procrastinate less because of her large amounts of work. “I procrastinated less, like, I became more diligent. I suppose I was more hardworking and I just became more grateful for everything I did.” This year was very closely focused on studying hard to get into a good college, and she was very patient, hardworking, and dedicated to being the best version of herself.
Everyone’s year was different, either good or bad, but 2024 was a year for remembering and persevering through challenging times, especially when in a new environment. There were many lessons and memories learned and lots of new experiences were overcome. Emily C, Naomi H, Anya C, and Mansib R all loved the year 2024 and can’t wait to see what 2025 offers. There were good and bad moments, but what mattered was that they went into 2024 with a positive attitude and came out with an even bigger smile.
