“The first two years of high school sometimes don’t feel real to me. With freshman year being completely online, it was really hard to make friends that made school more enjoyable. I had one friend from my Chinese class, and that was it. Going into sophomore year, I really got to see all the aspects of high school I missed out on the first year. I made a bunch of friends who were involved in organizations like eMotion, BISA [and] band, so I would go to their concerts and see all the extracurriculars Bellaire had to offer. That was also the year I took up classical guitar and found my love for music! 

Junior year was when I really locked in. I had all APs along with my third year of pre-IB Chinese. Although people always say junior year is the hardest year, I found it [to be] one of my favorites. I met some really cool seniors through my boyfriend and we had cool hangouts like a gingerbread-making contest and a murder mystery party. I reached out to a bunch of people and made a lot of new friends. I also had a lot of great teachers whom I still talk to today. I didn’t think the workload was insane, and along with varsity guitar and some great friends, junior year was really great.

Summer before senior year I decided to establish a Music As Medicine chapter, a club dedicated to playing music at healthcare facilities! My greatest accomplishment in high school is Music as Medicine. I feel like I’ve given the opportunity to play music and perform to a bunch of people at Bellaire. Furthermore, we’ve been able to impact our healthcare field and provide relief for patients, staff and doctors of Memorial Hermann. We’ve also had a great fundraising concert in December that raised over $500 for our Music for Change foundation, which gives underprivileged kids in Houston music lessons and instruments.

I’ve really really enjoyed my senior year. Even with all AP classes, I find the workload manageable. I have some really great friends who have stuck with me since sophomore year and have made senior year really fun. Through varsity guitar, I get to play a bunch of different music with really talented people and travel to places like Texas State University to play and compete.

I truly believe the best way to overcome stress and workload in school is by having a solid group of friends and extracurriculars that you’re passionate about. Being able to do something I love and share it with my friends and with the rest of my school [has] brought more excitement and zeal into my high school life. I feel that even without a true freshman year, I still got all the great experiences and met all the right people who made my high school years worth it.”