Finding Balance

Many social media sites have adopted the concept of automatically providing the user with posts from the past with the concept of, “Throwback Thursday” in mind. I, along with several others in this age, use snapchat primarily as a means for communication. Every so often, a message bar appears at the top of my memories titled, “Flashbacks from *insert date here*”. Whenever I click it, the selfies, dumb videos, and the textbook pages instill intense nostalgia, both good and bad. I see myself in these images as a completely different person, someone who I’m not ashamed to recognize but someone who puzzles me with the dissociation. These snapchat throwbacks allow me to truly process how much I have changed as an individual as a year passes since I began Gatton.

The academic growth that Gatton students are expected to gain is apparent to even prospective students. The promise of academic rigor that the Academy has to offer is often seen as the central benefit of attending the Gatton Academy. Through my experiences, the diversity of the growth I have faced while at Gatton has shaped me into the person that I am today.

The idea of allowing 14-18 year olds running around on a college campus with relatively low supervision is nightmare fuel for many parents. How can anyone trust them with so much freedom? What happens if they abuse it? When I was accepted into Gatton, I felt excited yet uneasy about all the freedom I was going to acquire over the next two years. When I stepped foot on campus, I enjoyed it as much as the other person, but I also discovered the consequences of abusing it. Thanks to this learning curve, I was able to find a healthy balance between academics, sleep, and my social life, which eventually allowed me to live a healthy, independent life here at Gatton. To this day, I still have moments where I struggle to keep this triad of necessities balanced but I’m able to handle it better than I ever would have before. Being able to function and self-regulate without my family was difficult, but because I was forced to mature so quickly, I learned life skills that which will carry onto my adulthood. Believe it or not, I had no idea how to do laundry a year ago but today, I’m a tide pod expert! (editor’s note: You aren’t supposed to use tide pods in the high-efficiency washers we have)

As a year at the Gatton Academy passes in my life, I often reflect on the person I’ve become and who I strive to be in the future. Coming to the Gatton Academy has not only benefitted me academically, but has taught me to be resilient and persevere through the hardships that adulthood has to offer. Though we’re still merely teenagers, Gatton has shaped us to be the adults that society expects us to be. I wonder who I and my peers will be after two years passes at the Gatton Academy…

 

Sasha