Seeking to fulfill upperclassmen responsibilities

Ever since freshman year, one thing that I constantly looked forward to was becoming an upperclassman. Now that I am a junior, all of the allure and enticement is not all that I expected it to be. Of course, I love the fact that I am one of the oldest students at Lawrence Woodmere Academy (LWA), a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school, but I feel as if my elder status is yet another added pressure to my junior year.
Walking through the quiet, yet entertaining halls of LWA, I wave to the tiny lower-schoolers led by the seven-foot tall gym teacher. As I turn a corner, I help an ingenuous freshman navigate to her classroom. In the back of my mind I think about how, as class president, I can help my grade get involved with the kids in the younger divisions. These are just a few examples that spark the sense of leadership and accomplishment that go along with being an upperclassman.
With Advanced Placement (AP) classes to keep up with, numerous tests to study for, and SATs to stress out about, it’s amazing I have time to focus on anything besides school. But to me, being in the 11th grade means serving as a role model for the lowerclassmen, all the way to the 4-year-olds, the youngest students in the building.
Although the age gap between a pre-school child and a high school senior is extreme, our close-knit school makes it impossible to avoid each other. I remember when I first began my Upper School career at LWA. The school is small, but sometimes I never felt so lost. Often, I showed up for a class on an odd numbered weekday and the course only met on even days. Every day I tried to follow in the older kids’ footsteps by keeping my cool and contributing positively to our unique community. Therefore, I now feel it is vital for me to do the same.
Last week, as I sat down to take my first AP U.S History test, I stared blankly at the page. A variety of questions popped into my head: Did we even talk about this stuff in class? How am I supposed to know what the landscape was like surrounding the Aztec Indian tribe? Did I actually have to read the textbook to know these answers? This is going to be a long year, I thought.
I’m not saying that the only difference about transforming from a sophomore to junior is the difficulty of the tests, but it was definitely a wake-up call for the distinct change that defines becoming an upperclassman. As I ease my way into becoming a successful junior, I strive to keep up my grades while being an active participant in my school. The responsibility that coincides with these next two years will be tough to live up to, but I know I am capable of fulfilling it.