My junior year of high school was much more different from my sophomore year of high school. Work was harder, free time was scarcer, and regular life seemed shorter. I faced many challenges regarding classes, tests, scheduling, and lifestyle changes. However, while junior life was hard, I eventually overcame all of the challenges I faced. Through struggling in my problems, I grew more as a person. My greatest growth as a junior was becoming more independent. In this situation, I define independence as confidence and reliability in one’s self.

To represent and demonstrate my growth in my independence, I had three artifacts from times throughout my junior year. My first artifact was my Final Chinese “My American Holiday” Script, my second artifact was my Internship Contract, and my third artifacts were my N.H.S./Key Club Pictures.

My Final Chinese “My American Holiday” Script showed my growth in independence as a leader. In the “My American Holiday” Project, C.C.P. Chinese students had to explain an American holiday to their Taiwanese pen pals, including facets of the holidays like food or traditions. C.C.P. Chinese students split into groups of three to four. During the project, my group chose me as leader. At first, I did not think much of being a leader. However, as our group started to falter behind other groups, I realized I had to start making more decisions. While I still worked as a teammate, I also became stricter. I assigned my teammates work to do and I formed plans and schedules to catch up to the other groups. Once I started to act more independently rather than relying on my group for direction, we started to accomplish our goals. In that sense, this artifact demonstrates my growth in independence because my change of confidence and reliability for myself rather than my group improved our work. While I did not act completely independently, I grew in independence by thinking more for myself.

My Internship Contract showed my growth in independence as an individual. As a junior, I had to find an internship over the summer for a business or career field that interested me. However, we received no help in the task of finding an internship. While I did ask for suggestions on where to start for an internship, I truly had no other help in contacting or finding internship businesses. At first, I procrastinated without any help, so I missed the first deadline for the internship contract. At that point, I realized that I needed to change. I realized I needed to work harder on my own to find an internship. Therefore, I filed an extension for my contract, I asked many organizations about internship opportunities, and I sent out information to confirm my internship. In that sense, this artifact demonstrates my growth in independence because I had to become more self-reliable to succeed. This endeavor forced me to schedule, plan, and generally work harder on my own.

My N.H.S./Key Club Pictures showed my growth in independence as a worker. As a 9th Grader and a 10th Grader, I did not join any extracurricular activities. When I joined Key Club and late N.H.S. during my junior year, I lacked the preparation for the commitment needed to stay in the organizations. I struggled to get my hours in for 1st Quarter, and I did not get all of my hours for 2nd Quarter. I worried about getting enough hours to stay in my clubs, and I realized that my main problem was my reliance on outside sources for hours. When I relied on other people’s schedules or events to get my hours, I did not get either enough hours for my clubs. I needed to schedule myself to insure I had enough hours. Therefore, I reached out to the community on my own to look for volunteering positions. I looked through my future events to see when I had time for volunteering. I relied on myself to get my hours, and I was successful. In that sense, this artifact represents my growth in independence because it represents my growth in my reliance in my abilities to overcome issues I face. By relying more on myself, I was successful in staying with my organizations.

I am thankful that I grew in my independence. Especially as I move closer to college and developing a career, I will need to become more independent to succeed. Furthermore, as an adult, I would need to learn to solve my own problems when no one else can help me. I feel my growth in independence has helped my preparation for the future and my strength as a person.