As I sit here looking back on the past year, it’s hard to keep my emotions in check. When I think about what my younger self may think of who I would become, I know they would’ve been proud and strived to be this person. There’s an overwhelming sense of uncertainty as I move onto the next chapter of my life but regardless, this past year has meant everything and more to me.

I ended my junior year thinking about how I wanted things to change in my senior year. I wanted to be a better athlete this year on the soccer field, go to as many sports events as possible to take way too many photos and get the best experience out of my final year as an a cappella captain. Most importantly, I wanted to spend as much time with my friends before we parted ways while still prioritizing my academic workload. As much as these expectations seem, it really wasn’t much when I learned to have fun with everything I did.

I tried to say ‘yes’ to as many things as I possibly could with my busy schedule, which I found to be the best thing I could do as it created so many more memories of the year for me, and even if they seemed small and insignificant, they weren’t. Give my four friends a ride home after a cappella rehearsal? Yes, we jammed our hearts out to Ariana Grande as I dropped each one off. Go for ice cream after a busy day? Yes, we ended up going for seconds on Ben and Jerry’s free ice cream day. Go all the way to Blake for the boys’ basketball regional finals on a school night? Yes, we ended up winning that game in a dramatic fashion and had a fun ride home with my brother.

Photography has been my lifeline throughout high school as my way of engaging with the community and letting out my creativity. This past year alone, I’ve gone to over 70 school-sponsored events to take photos for all the sports teams and other productions happening around the school, too. There has never been a single moment where I regret going to a game or simply taking photos. In fact, it was the contrary – I was sometimes upset I couldn’t attend an event because of prior commitments.

I’ve learned to combine two of my favorite things, sports and photography, into one, and through my photography, I’ve helped create a positive impact on the community, which in turn made me so happy to see others’ reactions to the photos I capture. Without this, there would be no ‘gkaurphotos’ and no way for me to go back and relive some of the amazing memories I’ve been able to capture.

One of the most important things I’ve learned throughout the course of this year is that everything falls into place with time and happens for a larger reason. With a cappella specifically, it has been my world and, even though we faced many setbacks throughout the year, we kept ourselves motivated and kept going. Our Tennessee trip may have gotten canceled mid-way through the 13-hour drive, but without that, we wouldn’t have had such a motivating practice that weekend and may not have done as well as we did in competition season. I’ve met lifelong friends through this group and know that I will always have this family to come back to. Our overall bond this year has shown that we are able to overcome obstacles, do our jobs as performers and joke around a lot of the time too.

Sometimes, you’ve just got to let life play out the way it does and the pieces all fit together in the end.
So as we sang Alessia Cara’s song “Best Days” in a cappella this year and asked ourselves, “What if my best days are the days I left behind,” I truly think these days have become a part of me and who I am as a whole. They have built me to become stronger and more motivated than just them being there once in my life and gone forever. These days will always be a piece of me, whether I think about them or not, and as I continue on with my journey to the University of Maryland, I will take these lifelong lessons, and memories, and put them all together in a piece of a photo I call life.

Just remember: don’t be afraid to try new things, make friends and family throughout your journey and make sure to still have fun throughout the process.