They say Junior year is the worst of all. However, that isn’t entirely true. No year in my book stands out as the most “challenging.” However, there are the most challenging classes, and those will test your ability to power through and ride it out until the rush of exams. 

As a student who balances three seasons of sports with a couple of AP classes, it can be difficult at times to turn in that history timeline or rhetorical analysis essay. Still, those are the moments that test your ability to persevere and find the value in hard work. So, for those of you who read this article, know that junior year will be a testament to perseverance, rather than just constant difficulty. With that idea of perseverance in mind, it’s important to consider the hard work that you’ve put into your Sophomore year because that effort and training you have built for yourself will take you extremely far. 

Some of the best advice I can give to those uncertain about taking a class is to dive right in and be confident. My journey this year with AP US History is a prime example of why diving in will teach you how to grapple with the class. While I’m sure many of you are somewhat unsure about this class, I encourage you to be confident, embrace it, and know that it will be a challenge, but that you can do it. 

My best advice, as many of you will be Juniors here in the coming months, is to know that challenges aren’t bad and that it is important to learn that a good thrill of a hard class will often lead to success. So, for that class you are unsure about, take it because you’ll never know the thrill of a challenge that a course will give you until it’s finally done.