Following my agonizing freshman year--- a year filled with negativity and depression--- I knew that I could not have another year that resembled freshman year. Terrified that a repetition would happen, I dreaded the start of my sophomore year. The summer of freshman year, I tried everything I could do to get me out of the depression... out of the mindset. I volunteered everywhere, talked to everyone, and went everywhere. All I wanted to do was just to get some life into me, and I did. As I went into sophomore year, I no longer had the brain fog, hazy feelings about school, and pain from just living. Every day was a new challenge to me--- something to overcome, something to look forward to; new people to talk to, and new places to go. I was no longer lost and hurt, but grounded and content. 

I wrote this poem as an assignment for a teacher thirteen days before the start of sophomore year, with the prompt being "Write a poem describing how you're feeling about the approach of sophomore year." At the time, I could only assume and hope what the upcoming year would be like, but at the end, everything described in this poem came out to be true--- sophomore year as a good year filled with challenges, fresh starts, and happiness.