Going along with the common theme of ranking just about anything, from television shows, sports teams, and even hours within the day, I thought it would be beneficial to look back at my highschool experience so far, and rank each grade from best to worst. Even though this time in all of our lives has been influenced drastically by multiple factors, most notably, the pandemic, I thought it would be fun to compare each year of my time as a highschool student, looking at categories such as academics, sports, experiences outside of school, and more. Keep on reading to find out why I ranked each year in the place that I did and feel free to compare and contrast your experiences with mine to create your own list!

To start, I would say my favorite year of highschool was sophomore year, contrary to the opinions of many who would consider this grade to be boring and insignificant compared to the others. As weird as it may sound, this is exactly what I loved about sophomore year, as it was nice to be comfortable with navigating the school and becoming familiar with how to be successful in all areas, following the adjustment period of being a freshman. It was as a sophomore that I met most of my close friends, had the easiest classes, and excelled the most on the gymnastics team. I felt that each day I woke up, I was excited for the school day ahead, as I can hardly remember a day in which I received more than an hours’ worth of homework. To go along with this, the reduced stress from easier academics translated into an amazing gymnastics season sophomore year, as I could enjoy having pasta parties after practice with my teammates and compete late at night, knowing I could come home and just relax. It was also during this year that my friends from my club team joined the high school team, leading to a super fun season with a few familiar faces, as well as more success than the season prior. On top of this, state was a very rewarding and enjoyable experience, as I performed better than I did as a freshman, and was able to do so with all my friends by my side. It is due to all of these reasons that sophomore year has been my favorite, and even with exciting events such as prom and graduation coming up, I do not believe senior year can beat it.

To continue, despite the hardship of the pandemic, I would still rank senior year as the second best after one semester. This is due to the fact that I have been able to responsibly see friends even more than I would be able to in a regular school year, as well as the opportunity I have been lucky to have with traveling during remote learning. I think this year has offered a different perspective, and has been a much needed change of pace following a difficult junior year, which I will elaborate on later in this post. Being able to learn from all over the country, specifically in Florida for much of the time has been extremely fun, and an experience that would not have been possible if not for remote learning. Along these lines, there’s something about staying home and participating in class from the comfort of my own bedroom that I have really enjoyed these past five months. It has offered time for self reflection, and has taught me the value of certain activities and people within my life, as making time for friends is something that must be done outside of school due to the adverse circumstances. Overall, the chill pace and unique opportunities presented during this year have made it my second favorite, not to mention the exciting events coming up as we move towards graduation, and eventually college.

Furthermore, as a stark contrast to senior year, my third favorite grade would have to be freshman year, due to the thrill of finally being a highschooler and adjusting to all of the new and exciting change. Some of my favorite activities during this year were of course gymnastics season, attending football games with my friends, and meeting all of the new people Naperville North had to offer. Not only were the activities exciting and a fresh change of pace, the academics were not too difficult, allowing time to relax and focus on newly developing friendships. I still remember enjoying almost all of my classes due to the teachers and classmates I had, especially chemistry and honors english, to name a few. In addition, gymnastics season freshman year was one of my favorite experiences, as I became friends with some amazing upperclassmen and finally got the chance to participate in the team aspect of the sport, as opposed to just competing as an individual in club gymnastics. While I wouldn’t say this season was as good as the one I had as a sophomore, it was way more than I ever expected during my first year, and gave me something to look forward to every day I came to school, as I knew I would have fun with my friends in class and at practice.

Finally, as expected, the worst year of highschool would have to be junior year without a doubt, as the stressors of applying to college and achieving high test scores are at the forefront of every student’s mind. I remember being anxious about an upcoming test almost every single week, and on top of this I dreaded visiting my ACT tutor, in hopes that my scores would improve enough to achieve what was needed to be successful, leading into college applications as a senior. To make matters worse, I was dealing with an ongoing knee injury that began at the beginning of the gymnastics season, due to a short landing on a tumbling pass I hadn’t quite perfected. At first, the doctor thought it only was a terrible bruise, so I continued practicing and competing, despite feeling stressed out every time I stepped onto the floor. Over time, the injury worsened, and a hard fall on the dismount during my bar routine led to a torn ACL and meniscus that obviously required surgery. Following this surgery that occurred in February, was the beginning of the pandemic within the United States in March, which overall was a difficult period of time for myself and for everyone in the community. Finally, it is for all of these reasons that junior year ranks at the very bottom of this list, and is certainly not a time I would want to experience all over again.

To wrap it all up, ranking each grade of highschool was a fun way to reflect on my experience, especially considering the fact that it is all coming to an end with the beginning of second semester coming up next week. It is interesting to look back on everything I have learned so far, and to embrace the good times with the bad, as I believe everything happens for a reason, and all experiences build character. I would be happy to hear your rankings in the comments if you would like to share, as well as the reasons each grade may have been your favorite, least favorite, or somewhere in between. Finally, regardless of your rankings up to this point, I hope everyone has a fun and successful ending to their journey at North, and can enter college free of regrets and full of amazing memories! 

– Kelsey 🙂