Hello, graduation!

It is once again that time of the year...for me, it’s still difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I will no longer be a high school student, that I will be living so far from my family, that I will for the first time in ten years leave my hometown bubble. Graduation is filled with mixed emotions and thoughts about the past and the future. So if I may share a few words of encouragement with those graduating this year, here's what I would say....

Be proud of yourself. For making it through all these years of schooling. Simply for getting this far. For the new knowledge you’ve acquired. For hanging in there even when it's been really hard.
Your future is a blank slate--take advantage of it. This world is full of endless opportunities and experiences for you to discover. Don’t hold back and be the person you’ve wanted to be. And don’t forget that who you are now doesn’t necessarily have to be who you have to be in the future. Don’t be afraid of this next chapter of your life. Try new activities. Meet new friends. Make mistakes. Enjoy your fresh start. Always remember you don’t have to have everything “figured out”.
Let the people around you know how much you love them. This big milestone in your life is an important moment in time for the people around you who care for you deeper than you know. In many ways, you’ve reached this point because of these people...let them know how much you appreciate their presence in your life.

To my fellow class of 2015 all over the world, I wish you the best in this next stage of life!

Jenna is a high school senior who currently resides right outside Nashville, Tennessee and isn’t quite set on what she’d like to pursue in college. Recently she co-founded an outreach club to cultivate STEM interests in elementary-aged girls through fun sessions with videos, crafts, and games. Aside from sharing her love for learning about life sciences, Jenna has a deep-rooted passion for singing classical and choral music. In her free time, you can find her binging on Korean dramas, stressing out about the incomprehensibility of physics, or having an intense tennis match with her younger sister (which her sister always wins).