With the end of senior year approaching, I cannot help but reflect on the memories that have dominated this year.

From dancing in Washington, D.C., to moving back home and attending Fresno Christian, so much has changed.

Let me start from the beginning. Freshman year I had Greg Stobbe as my English teacher. I had heard from multiple people that he was very challenging, but I knew I was ready for it. He had a way to challenge the class yet have fun with it.

Most of the teachers I have had in the past were boring and dull. Mr. Stobbe was the opposite; he knew exactly how to communicate to high school students.

By the end of the year I had learned so much from him and enjoyed his class thoroughly. He was by far my favorite teacher and I was looking forward to the years to come.

That same year I was accepted to The Washington School of Ballet and stayed there for two and half years to train professionally. I was more than excited to be living my dream. The training and level I wanted to reach were not something I could obtain here in Fresno.

With all the classes I endured throughout the years, I have always felt school had to take a back seat. My home schooling was awful and I was barely getting by without any teachers. I was trying to find a way to go to another high school in the area and do ballet, but it would have been impossible.

Even though I was a full-time ballet student, I always enjoyed a love for writing. I kept a journal and would write in it every day, hoping to someday make a book that would relate to teens. But since dancing was such a big part of my life, my ability to develop as a writer and student was cut short.

When I came back home for my senior year, I attended Fresno Christian and decided to join the journalism class. I was aware that my level of writing was below most of the students in the class, but it made me want to work harder and improve.

This class has challenged me to discover a new way of writing, as well as communicate to people through the articles. I thank Mr. Stobbe for pushing me this year and helping me grow as a better writer and broaden my horizons.

This coming fall I will be at Fresno City College for two years. I am majoring in business so that later one day I can open up my own ballet studio. I am taking business classes, dance classes and writing classes. I hope to realize my dream, using all I have learned to work toward it.

For more senior reflections, read the May 18 column, Journalism expands senior’s creativity.