Asking for help

This is really it huh. The last blog post. I am feeling a mix of sadness and happiness that is probably gonna last for a few months. Sad because it is the last time I can put my thoughts into writing freely, unless I decide to continue to blog after this week. Happy because I can finally not spend time and brain cells thinking of something interesting or meaningful that came up in the past week. As we experience this bitter sweet ending of our senior year, I hope that everyone in the class of 2021 leaves this place we called home for 4 years with some life lessons, knowledge, or improvements. I think for me, the most important thing that I have learned at Troy high is that it is OK to ask for help.

I grew up in an environment where each kid's scores are revealed to the public and everyone is ranked against each other. There were class rankings, grade rankings, school rankings, etc. So because I was exposed to this at a young age, I felt the need to treat everyone else in my class as my opponent that I need to beat. Even though trying to be the best is a good thought, the way I viewed it was flawed. I thought asking others for help is a sign of weakness and shows my "opponents" I am vulnerable. When I moved to Troy and became a THS student, even though the class rankings are gone, that sort of competitiveness is still here. People are competing in so many competitions, competing for club positions, competing for better spots in band or orchestra and so much more. I have seen many times a students that is struggling refusing to ask for the help of another student that is thriving or sometimes even the teacher. Instead they chose to go home and spend hours and hours trying to figure out something a fellow classmate or teacher could have explained in a few minutes. Now, this might be out of shyness, but still we should not be afraid to ask for help. Thankfully, I got rid of my old, toxic mindset when I asked for the help of a fellow student in AP US history (Sighh good times). We actually both benefited from this because I learned the material much better and he reinforced his knowledge. 

For most of us, we will be placed in a competitive environment again in college. After all, it is that competitiveness that placed us above others and stood out against the hundreds of thousands of applicants. Asking for the help of others on things you cannot figure out on your own is not weak, in fact it shows courage and your willingness to learn. In college, we need to understand everything we learn or we will just fall further and further behind. Finally, I just want to say, I had a great time at THS. I had friendships, hardships, fun times, sad times, etc. I hope we all have an amazing 4 years of college and a great career. GLHF guys!!!