<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2T679V_0tEntHvn00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2T679V_0tEntHvn00" width="640" height="800" ><figcaption>Courtesy Lifetouch</figcaption></figure><p>My idea of high school was based on movies like “High School Musical” or “Ferris Buller’s xDay Off.” But when I started my freshman year, I quickly realized that this was not the case. There was no singing or dancing unless you were in theater, or skipping school and going to a baseball game, until you were a senior and it was skip day. My freshman year of high school was on a computer, which was a bit disappointing. The only friends I had were ones from middle school, and with COVID, the social distancing made us grow apart. All my classes consisted of my teacher and a bunch of black boxes filling the screen. I attempted to join clubs but I missed the feeling of being in person and talking to people face to face. Through my sophomore and junior years, I met my best friends who helped me survive the rest of my years and make my high school experience memorable. I was also able to sign up for sports and clubs, and finally participate in events like homecoming and going to my first football game. Junior year was one of the toughest years for me in school, it was the start of thinking about my future and planning what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I knew I wanted to go out-of-state, so I started googling places, I ended up with a list of 20 schools that had physical therapy as a major. Somehow, I ended up choosing a hard thing to get a job with a bachelor’s degree, which led me to refine my list from 20 to 15 for schools with a graduate program. And with selecting schools aside, I had to register for senior classes. I wanted my senior year to be easy, so I took basic classes but I always wanted to try writing for The Pitch. I knew some people in Pitch like Mackenzie, Mia and Seyun, so I knew I wouldn’t be alone, and being a fan of Gilmore Girls I decided to take J1, what’s the worst that could happen? I took J1 for a semester and found out that being a senior and taking a semester of J1 would let me be a member of The Pitch, and I took the opportunity and joined as a staff writer. Being in Pitch has let me explore my creative side and get to write fun articles about whatever I wanted to. Being a new member towards the end of the year was daunting, I only knew a few people and everyone else knew their role and what to do. Despite the challenges, I am happy with my choice to join The Pitch.</p></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Emma Matalia’s Senior Reflection

My idea of high school was based on movies like “High School Musical” or “Ferris Buller’s xDay Off.” But when I started my freshman year, I quickly realized that this was not the case. There was no singing or dancing unless you were in theater, or skipping school and going to a baseball game, until you were a senior and it was skip day. My freshman year of high school was on a computer, which was a bit disappointing. The only friends I had were ones from middle school, and with COVID, the social distancing made us grow apart. All my classes consisted of my teacher and a bunch of black boxes filling the screen. I attempted to join clubs but I missed the feeling of being in person and talking to people face to face. Through my sophomore and junior years, I met my best friends who helped me survive the rest of my years and make my high school experience memorable. I was also able to sign up for sports and clubs, and finally participate in events like homecoming and going to my first football game. Junior year was one of the toughest years for me in school, it was the start of thinking about my future and planning what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I knew I wanted to go out-of-state, so I started googling places, I ended up with a list of 20 schools that had physical therapy as a major. Somehow, I ended up choosing a hard thing to get a job with a bachelor’s degree, which led me to refine my list from 20 to 15 for schools with a graduate program. And with selecting schools aside, I had to register for senior classes. I wanted my senior year to be easy, so I took basic classes but I always wanted to try writing for The Pitch. I knew some people in Pitch like Mackenzie, Mia and Seyun, so I knew I wouldn’t be alone, and being a fan of Gilmore Girls I decided to take J1, what’s the worst that could happen? I took J1 for a semester and found out that being a senior and taking a semester of J1 would let me be a member of The Pitch, and I took the opportunity and joined as a staff writer. Being in Pitch has let me explore my creative side and get to write fun articles about whatever I wanted to. Being a new member towards the end of the year was daunting, I only knew a few people and everyone else knew their role and what to do. Despite the challenges, I am happy with my choice to join The Pitch.

Emma Matalia’s Senior Reflection

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