How does it feel to be in the last year of your mandatory Turkish schooling years, and what kind of pressures are you going through?
Naturally I feel sad that I’ll be leaving Açı. I have made good friends and after all, I’ve been at this school for ten years. The day to day routine has literally sunk into my bones making it very difficult to adapt to a new one. However, I also feel that it is necessary I move on. Although the future seems to be very blurred and in a way quite scary, I truly feel excited and motivated to pursue and live my own life, on my own terms.
Having worked hard up until these very last months feeling excited and motivated more than ever, it has not been without grave difficulties. The pressures of having to get into a good university, to represent my school the best way possible and to continuously follow the application deadlines, have all been very tiring and have stressed me out on more than one occasion. Especially in terms of completing all the necessary paper-work, supplement essays etc., these last two months, from October to November, have been the busiest. I have had to go back and forth, all the way from the new Science building up to Miss Lisya’s office, with my personal statement and CV several times.
Despite all the hard work of applying to university and fulfilling all the requirements, I have also had to think about other issues as important as them. For instance my graduation and the legacy I’m leaving behind. I feel that it is very important for the senior class of a high school to leave behind a legacy which will form the basis for the identity of that school. It is up to us 12th graders to pioneer the way to guide the seniors of the following year. It is up to us to set certain standards on the way things are done around the school
For those reason, I feel a tremendous sense of duty and responsibility. I promise that I will do my best to fulfill my duty as a student, as a senior and more importantly as one of the first graduates of Açı High School.