A Year of Opportunity

A Year of Opportunity

Field Notes is a collection of articles curated by students and teachers from around the world detailing their academic experiences.

Ah, Junior Year, what an experience.

I had heard that it would be the hardest year of high school, but I  didn’t know what to expect. In sophomore year, I was very successful, earning 5's on all 6 of my AP tests. The following summer was intense with the drama surrounding College Board's AP World History changes. After all of that, I was ready for Junior year.

Entering the Year

The beginning of junior year ushered in new changes, especially with my new course-load: APUSH, AP Bio, AP Calc, AP Lang, and AP Physics C: Mechanics. They were much harder than the other classes that I took, even the ones I self-studied. I quickly became drowned in work with all my teachers going on full throttle starting on day one. With a lot of my time going towards extracurriculars,

I needed to find a better, more efficient method to study.

Then came Fiveable, which offered live streams with live teacher interaction for most of my subjects. Thus, I could ask them questions relevant to the subject matter. And the best part? I could re-watch the streams at my convenience if I wanted to review the content. Moreover, I met a community of like-minded students who I could sympathize and talk with.

Opportunities

With Fiveable, I found myself a new plan for success and thus aced my first semester, passing all my classes and exams. I could have never expected the serendipity that would come my way second semester. When I heard that Fiveable was opening up internships, I immediately jumped at the offer and signed up.

I would never come to regret signing up for this. I love helping other students learn now that I learned how to study, and now I could spread my insights to others as well to spread the wealth. I got to meet other like-minded individuals and teachers who also enjoy the role of teaching as well.

The biggest opportunity came later in the semester though.

One of my online friends introduced me to the nonprofit that she was building. This nonprofit would introduce and enhance others’ experience in Computer Science through Hackathons. I thought that this was a great idea and was almost immediately hooked. Through hard work and dedication, I was quickly accepted by the team. To my surprise, I was selected as one of the two Directors of Content Creation, meaning that I was in charge of making written content for the nonprofit. This triggered my passion for technical and subject-specific writing.

This became a motivating reason on why I decided to become a Fiveable content creator as well.

Getting Help

Throughout this, my teachers in school were always there to help me learn and to de-stress. They were some of the most understanding people and would always listen to my problems and make accommodations if any issues popped up. They also helped me with my outside projects as well in order for me to succeed.

Towards the Future

To sum it all up, junior year was a great year. I’m now looking forward to continuing my work with Fiveable and the nonprofit throughout the summer and next year. I look forward to helping you make this next year Fiveable!