The Future- Anne Russell

Successes: I would say my biggest success this year has been learning to play guitar. It has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. I can use the guitar to express what I'm feeling, I can escape from sadness and stress, I can worship with my youth group. I have written a song and plan to write more in the future, I have been able to play guitar during worship times with my youth group which has been a huge blessing. This week I played in two coffee shops with my friend Chloe, and our friendship has gotten even stronger because of our mutual love for playing guitar. This skill has done so much good for me throughout junior year.
Failures: I would say my biggest failure this year has been my attitude towards school. My entire life I have been so proactive and motivated when it comes to school work, but this year, the first year It all starts to matter, it seems that I have peaked and lost interest. I have still done what is necessary and gotten good grades, but my complaints in doing so have been many.
Lessons learned: Something that has been ingrained into my head this year is that it's okay to be different. You don't need to compare yourself to anyone else, just be confident in yourself and embrace the differences that make you who you are. I spent too much time comparing myself to others this year and no good has come of it.
Risks taken: Some of the risks I've taken this year involved performing. After only seriously playing guitar for a matter of months, I began playing with my youth group at our high school bible studies. I eventually played on Wednesday nights, which involved the whole youth group and some adults. Then recently, I was able to play at our youth retreat in front of everyone. It was so rewarding! Then I played at our church's fundraiser show called Solid Rock. And again, this past week I played at two coffee shops with my friend. I have really put myself out there this past year with my still developing guitar skills, but it has definitely paid off.
Mistakes made: I don't think I made any colossal mistakes this year, But I got into a big fight with one of my oldest friends and for a few weeks it was really bad. But I don't regret the whole thing because now we are stronger for it.
Summer plans: this summer is packed to the brim! June includes 4 weeks of camp at Bluegrass Christian Camp: one week with disabled people, one week with other high schoolers, then two weeks counseling kiddos. From there, I'm off to GSP for 5 weeks, and then I might have one week to "relax", aka do all my last minute summer homework.
Senior year: Senior year I plan to still maintain good grades, but also focus on what I love and figuring out what I want to pursue in college and a career. I'm taking photography and music, thus my schedule is not too stressful. I really want to write a lot of music, possibly a worship album with my friend Chloe. And also I really hope that I find a mentoring project that constantly inspires me and does a lot of good. (I have yet to find a solid plan for my mentoring project yet...)
Goals: I will achieve my goals by trusting in God and not surrendering to anxiety. Worry gets you nowhere, which I have learned the hard way throughout my years of anxiety. But I plan to give it to God and look forward to the future. I'm excited to go on college visits and figure out where I wanna spend my next 4 years, hopefully finish a rocking mentoring project, and play lots of guitar.