A Reflection on High School—My NSA Story
By Ava F.
Well, I guess I made it. We are coming very close to the end of the school year, and to the end of a very significant stage of my life. With the chaos of life and schoolwork, I’m not sure if I’ve actually taken a moment to really take a breath and consider that fact. High school has been a wild ride. Was it at all like High School Musical? No, but that’s probably for the best.
I’m not one of those people who has had their career planned out since elementary school and is faithfully pursuing their dream. I am currently sitting with the anxiety that comes with uncertainty. For now, the plan is to pursue a bachelors and then masters degree that will enable me to teach English as a foreign language. Living in different places around the world has always been a dream of mine, so the idea is that I could work at college level or through teaching programs in order to travel and experience different cultures. While it’s incredibly stressful, it’s also exciting to not know what the future holds and what God’s plans are. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. As I look towards the future, I think I’m going to finally take that breath and reflect on the past: on high school, how I came to NSA, and what I’ve learned.
I remember always asking my parents if I could switch to homeschooling when I was younger. I had a very unrealistic idea of what it would actually be like. You know, the stereotypical easy homeschool life. Nevertheless, I continued to attend public school until I turned twelve when my family decided to move overseas to the Middle East. I continued at a private international school until 2018 when I decided to transfer to NSA as a freshman in high school in order to get a better quality high school education.
I didn’t end up with the easy homeschool life that third grade me had imagined, but I did end up with something much better. But we’ll get to that later because actually, my first year at NSA—as a freshman—was pretty rough. I took all VRP courses and was responsible for planning my schedule for the year. Yes, I got behind, and yes, I worked through the summer. I learned the hard way about time management and self-discipline. Somewhat begrudgingly, I am very thankful for those experiences.
High school is hard so I cannot honestly say it got much easier after my first year at NSA, but I am thankful for how I have been challenged to grow as a student. During this past year, there were moments where I was simply studying at my desk or at a coffee shop, truly appreciating the experience of learning. I even started to enjoy math last year, and that means a lot coming from me. High school has not been all unicorns and rainbows, but I have realized how much I actually enjoy learning and how much more I want to learn. I’m not sure if I would have truly grown in that way without NSA. Those moments are the ones which remind me how grateful I am to have the opportunity to be educated and to challenge myself. For example, I knew that I wanted to do something different for my senior year—this year—so I decided to join the Navigator and another EVP course despite knowing the sessions would be during the evenings for me. Spoiler alert: it was a great decision. I’ve had the privilege to write for the Navigator this year and be a part of this fantastic team of people. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my time at NSA.
So, as I prepare to head to university this fall with an open-mind, I am excited to continue my journey as a lifelong learner. As I don my cap and gown, I will say farewell to high school, and appreciate the journey that it was.
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Ava F. is a senior who has attended NSA for three years and this is her first year on the Navigator. She lives in the Middle East with her parents and younger brother. She loves learning about other cultures and hopes to pursue a career that will allow her to travel or live abroad. In her free time she enjoys horseback riding, boxing, learning Arabic, reading, and painting.