I still remember my first day here at Adventure, but I don’t want to bore you with all our silly little fights, so long story short, the class of 2025 was a rollercoaster. We had many fun projects, long projects, mini projects, boring projects, hard projects, and even competitive projects. We went through series of fights and new friendships, and somehow, at the end of the year, we would all have to make up, forgive and forget, but remember. This is only a glimpse of 6th and 7th grade, so buckle your seatbelts, students, and brace yourself for the most challenging year of middle school.

 

Society today is sugarcoated for many kids my age, so if you're reading this right now and think that everyone is happy, alive, and well, drop everything you believe and listen carefully to what I have to say, because this is how society runs today. If you don't have the features that a model should have, you're not beautiful; if you don't have straight A's, you'll never have a successful future; if there are people smarter than you, then you don't put in enough effort. Adventure has prepared me well to face the future. How? We were pushed every day to create the best work; we were compared to ourselves, rather than others; teachers pushed us to max and brought out the best in us; we were sometimes put with some people who slacked off, and were forced to take initiative. As good as this seems, this year was very stressful, so one thing you’ll need for every assignment; every project, is being ready to face problems straight forward, and not avoiding them until the last minute. Look at the bigger picture and see what needs to be overcome, and once you’ve figured that out, the rest should be smooth.

 

Now, I’m going to be straightforward, as I feel the need to explain the struggles I had this year. In some classes, we weren’t being pushed to our full potential because of changes that were being made to Adventure. As a graduating 8th grader, I think I can say from experience, that as a school, we work better in classes that provide substantial projects. It’s those classes that students appreciate, that will prepare you for the future, that will build your potential, and will teach you how to work hard and think big. So be ready to face the huge projects coming your way, as well as the smaller assignments that include less hands on requirements.

 

“Without struggle, there is no progress”. This is a quote hanging up in our school, that maybe nobody looks at often, but has greater meaning than quotes like “You can do it!”. Instead of encouraging the expectation to complete projects flawlessly, it encourages you to know that without endeavoring and attempting several times, there is no progress and there is no effort shown. As petty or cheesy this may sound, without this quote in mind, you won’t survive 8th grade. I don’t remember one project I had this year that didn’t include having to redo certain parts or alter plans. I don’t remember any projects where I completed it effortlessly, and still got a good grade. You will need to try, you will need to put in effort, and you definitely will need to struggle in order to make progress.

 

I think everyone likes to end on good terms, so I will end this essay on a good term, just like how you may want to end 8th grade on good terms. Beyond all the scares that 8th grade may bring, the last thing I want you to know, is that this is only middle school. In college and in the future, you're not going to remember the C you had in math, or the B+ that was so close to an A. Instead of worrying so much about the little things as an 8th grader, look at the bigger picture. High school's going to come, and it will be even harder, so enjoy your last year of middle school and save the worrying for high school!