Prior Work

An assignment I am most proud of is one of my Poetry Prompts for AP Literature junior year.
The prompt was to analyze two poems that express reactions to the premature death of young
athletes and write an essay comparing and contrasting the diction, figurative language, and
tone. We then needed to connect those elements to the purpose of each poem. I feel most
successful with this assignment because I was able to really understand the poems and
annotate them well. My ability to understand the poems helped me write a better essay. It was
also one of my longest essays in the 40 minutes we had to write it. I am proud of how fast I was
able to annotate and write within the time limit, which helped me feel more prepared for the AP
test.

How I Have Grown

Throughout high school, I have had my ups and downs with classes. My freshman year I took
no AP classes and had straight A’s. During my sophomore year, I started taking AP classes and
was suddenly getting B’s in those classes. By my senior year, I was able to understand the rigor
of the AP courses and have gotten A’s in them. I have grown in how I handle these harder
classes, while also being able to maintain my A’s in my main classes. I believe that each AP
class I took, it prepared me for the next year with other AP’s I would be taking, causing me to be
able to raise my grades in them.

How I Can Grow

From freshman to senior year, a category that I can improve in is Math. I have always been
pretty good at math, until I started taking an AP math class Senior year. I was not prepared for
the pace that the class went at nor the difficulty of it. I used to not need to study for tests and
quizzes and still be able to get A’s, however that did not work for AP Calculus. I realize I can put
more effort outside of class to be able to understand the content as well as I did in math classes
in prior years. After graduation, I know that college will not be easy and I will be needing to put
as much effort in all my classes as I do in math this year.

The Next Step

Great Oak High School has prepared me in many ways for life after graduation. It has shown
me how to deal with tough situations such as harder classes, and that I can not give up. It has
also taught me that I need to work for things, it will not be handed to me. I had to work for my
grades, the teachers didn’t just give me an A if I didn’t deserve it. Great Oak also has taught me
that in life, there are going to be people who are rude, unsupportive, and hard to work with. It
has taught me the correct way to deal with people like that, which will be especially helpful in my
career in Law Enforcement.