Sincerely, A Thankful Senior
By Karis T.
High school has been the best years of my life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s also been the most stressful years of my life, but the best years, nonetheless. As my high school journey comes to a close and I get ready to finish the last chapter of my NSA story, which I’ve creatively titled Senior Year, I’ve felt so thankful. Has NSA made me want to scream and cry and rip my hair out from time to time? Yes. Have I cried consistently during every math class I’ve taken here? Also, yes. But I wouldn’t be who I am today if it had not been for NSA.
I grew up in Uganda, Africa, where the education options were not exactly up to par. So, my brother, my sister, and I spent the first several years of our lives being traditionally homeschooled by my mom. When I was 9, we ended up leaving Uganda, and my family found ourselves in America for an unexpected year and a half. We didn’t have a house to live in and had to stay with my grandparents for a few months, and we also had added another member to our family. It’s safe to say my mom didn’t have a lot of margin left to homeschool the three of us anymore, and we ended up being enrolled in local public schools. By this time, I was in fourth grade, and learning in a traditional classroom with my peers was a completely foreign idea to me. Also, in case anyone is wondering, I did, in fact, cry over math at this point in my life, as well.
After a traumatic semester and a half in public school, my family picked up and moved to a different city, and two of my siblings and I returned to being traditionally homeschooled while we hopped around to six different houses during the remaining time we were in America. When I was 11, we moved again, this time back overseas to the Middle East, where I was enrolled in an international private school for a traumatic 7th and 8th grade, where, yes, I did cry about math consistently. Planning on attending university in America, my parents knew the education at this school was not going to cut it, and they pulled me out before my freshman year. My mom spent hours upon hours upon hours searching for an accredited online program that my sister and I could attend while my brother remained at the private school for a little longer. After stumbling across NorthStar Academy and doing some more research, my parents decided to enroll me and I’ve been here ever since, where, as I clarified earlier, I still cry about math.
NorthStar has taught me so much more than how to decompose partial fractions, write a strong thesis statement, and how to find the kinetic energy of an object. I’ve learned how to learn, and I’ve learned to love learning. It’s taught me how to manage my time, be responsible, and how to balance life with responsibility. It’s given me opportunities to travel and start school while on family vacations, the ability to pursue dance on a deeper level, become more Biblically literate, and earn a better education than I probably could’ve gotten anywhere else. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t attended NSA.
P.S. This last year I’ve spent at the Navigator has, alone, taught me so much. I’ve loved so much, working behind the scenes, watching the writers shine. I’m especially thankful to Mrs. Meyer for letting me be the very first editor and trusting me to do it when I emailed you about the idea a year ago and thank you to the staff for being the guinea pigs. Senior year would not have been the same without any of you.
So as my time here comes to a close, I feel a little sad that my childhood is ending and I’ll never get to experience high school again, but I’m also excited I don’t have to complete online orientation ever again. But don’t worry, I will continue to cry about math…I don’t think people can change that much.
Sincerely, a very thankful senior
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Karis T. lives in the Middle East with her parents and two of her three siblings. She’s in her senior year and is going into her fourth year at NSA. She has been dancing for most of her life and is completely in love with the art of ballet and contemporary, and she also works at her studio as a ballet teacher for 3-9 year olds. When she’s not doing school or dancing, she most likely has her nose in a book or is playing guitar. She’s also overtly passionate about health, fitness, and wellbeing and is looking to pursue a career in Physical Therapy in the future.