180 days. 90 days. Look at how far we have come now; In a matter of 14 days, the 2013-2014 school year will be officially over. This year was definitely a memorable one, but no one has any idea how ready I am to move forward to my junior year,

Just think, the pressure to earn high marks in classes will be put on break for three months, we will refrain from eating the below average school lunch that tastes like cold cardboard, and we can finally unplug the alarm clock (and our cell phones for those technology-driven teens) without worry of waking up late and being tardy for first period. The break does sound pretty enticing, but what I look most forward to is the chance to do what I was not able to do this school year and have a chance to do it next year.

Let us reflect back on my first column of the year and evaluate the areas I kept success in and areas I will give attempt once again in improving.

Procrastination: oh my you will always be the death of me no matter what. Honestly, I feel like I managed to worsen my habits of procrastination. Before, I would complete assignments the night prior to its due date. Now, I seem to complete some of them the morning when it is due or even two or three hours before. I think I have come to the conclusion that procrastination will forever stick with me throughout my years of school and cannot be stopped. All I can hope to improve on with this trait is to control it before it worsens.

My performance within the appearance department has been a bit hazy. This year, I had those days of a cutup band shirt with an oversized flannel, resembling a hipster. There were also days when I decided to introduce a skirt and knee highs into my wardrobe. With a few pounds shed and another new hair color, I was fairly content with my way of dressing this year, and I only plan to add in a few more dresses for the next year. Who knows, maybe even another crazy hair color like my red will be in addition to the school year; I am thinking purple or green.

In the beginning of the year, I aimed to improve my involvement within the school. I can happily say that this was my biggest success of all the changes I planned to make. Unlike last year, I attended homecoming, participated in the annual flag football game, and actually stayed involved with DECA. Next year, all I plan to improve by making it past DECA State Conference to go to ICDC and join Key Club.

It seemed so far away at the beginning of the year, but now it is so close. I can feel how close junior year is and can start to throw away the stress I predicted from sophomore year. Of course, I will still be graced with the worry of writing proficiency exams, but I predict it to be fairly easy.

As I end the last column of my sophomore year, I grant luck to all those for the next school year. Start yourself on the road to improvement in areas where it is needed, and follow the high hopes that you can achieve as your high school career continues. Goodbye 2013-2014 school year and hello 2014-2015!