My name is Aparneesh. The hardest thing I’m going through right now has to be the class ALC (Advanced Literature and Composition). It’s a very tough class. Right now we have to analyze the evidence and the closuresーwhich are very tough. ALC is hard mostly because I have to stay up late at night trying to get good grades. I think about how I could increase my grade in that class. [For students...

“Use the five year rule, if it’s not something that’s going to affect you five years down the line, don’t worry about it or let it discourage you.This is something I’ve really learned to apply recently as my grades in Math Analysis aren’t as good as I’m used to and I’m learning to accept it and keep working hard.”

"The hardest thing I've ever had to go through was probably my freshman year. I was adjusting to the new environment and had difficulty branching out to new people. It definitely taught me a lot; it shaped me into who I am today; it was a lot of character building and it taught me how to adjust to new situations. I'm much happier now, and for those going through similar times, I would advise you to...

“We would always go over to his house and go dirt bike riding and sometimes go out to dinner and lunch, actually the last time I saw him was at dinner. I was in Florida with my grandma, my mom, and a few of their friends. [My grandma] comes in bawling her eyes out and when I asked what was wrong, she told me I needed to go downstairs and talk to my mom. My mom grabs chairs and we head down to the ...

“The hardest thing I have ever had to do was telling my friends at villa that I was moving schools. I care so much about them so it really hurt when I told them that I won’t be going to school with them for the next 4 years. We’ve been through so much, so I know I will miss them more than anything! But I knew that even after I moved we would still stay in contact. And also try to stay as close...

“I would say the happiest moment in my life was probably winning state last year for football. It was a really good moment it was really nice and indescribable because everything happened so fast, I didn’t really know what was going on…The beginning of the game it was very nerve wracking because it was a big stage but it was also cool to be there. During the end of the game, when we were winning...

“The happiest moment of my life was when I made the Laduettes Dance Team. I put in a lot of effort in dancing and practice, to help me improve. And when I finally made the team, I was overloaded with joy. My biggest regret is taking Spanish III. It is so much work and my comprehension is really bad.”

“My life’s motto is life is 90 percent of what you perceive it. Say you are having a really bad day. You could choose to perceive it as a really bad day or you could just not think about it. You can perceive it as not that bad. You can start thinking about all of the kids in Africa who are enduring so much. My life isn’t that bad. Or all of the people who died in the holocaust so I shouldn�...

“There are a lot of happy moments in my life but there are two that stand out to me the most. My 15th birthday was really special because all of my family and friends were at the party and they were all there to support me. Another really happy moment for me was when I made the science olympiad competition team in eighth grade. I worked so hard all summer and was constantly studying. We even made it to na...

“Don’t procrastinate. I turned my TKAM essay to Ms. Upadhyay a month late and I got an 80 percent on it. I accidentally copied some notes down from my friends and turned it into Mr. Hill’s class last year. So he gave me a bad grade on them. Because I procrastinated till lunchtime.”

“Um, I would say…live your life. Don’t spend your time just sitting around. Don’t waste your days watching TV. Just go outside and see the world. And there’s so many things to do. I’ve had a lot of experiences, and I feel lucky to have experienced what I have. And now that I’ve seen these amazing parts of life it’s hard for me to just sit around and do nothing. I’m always pushing...

“Stay prepared, throughout your life since you never know when there's something that comes up. And then, when something comes up, if you're not prepared you're just, kind of mess. Yesterday I took a physics test. Physics is just a weird subject. And during that physics test, I was really sad because I did bad. So, overall I just think you should be very prepared and be able to face your obstacles...

“My best advice is that you should always try your best even if you fail. My sophomore year in my chemistry class I used to get really stressed out and freak out before the test, but I learned to calm myself down and really just try my best. I really have a lot of bad memories from my chemistry class sophomore year, especially with the tests. But after I would calm myself down and just really tak...

“Don’t have a lot of kids. Too many people in one house is hard. We have a big house but it feels small compared to normal. Children are the biggest issue you run into. My brothers play in my room a lot when I’m at school it messes with me, cause ya know OCD. Oh and they’ll go on my phone and text my friends. It’s like an everyday thing. Oh, it’s wonderful.”

"I'm only 16 years old, and I haven't really lived my life to the fullest. Yeah, I have really limited experience and I still have a lot to learn. I couldn't really pick one happiest moment because there could always be another. I mean, I've had happy experiences, but it's also incredibly difficult to pick just one. I have happy times with my family. Like, we go to national parks and I loved the time...

“The saddest moment of my life was when my grandfather died. It was two and a half years ago. I was on a camping trip and it was a Saturday night. I felt like someone was punching me in the gut, so I called my mom. And I talked and she said that it didn’t look like Pop is doing so good. We were staying at the campsite until 12:00 on Sunday. When I got home, I opened the door and my parents were bo...

“I play lacrosse all year round and it’s what I do every day after school,. It’s also what I want to do in college. I don’t like the amount of pressure that is put on me sometimes. Every once in a while I feel like I am expected to do more than I can in order to get a win and to prosper. It’s really important to me because everyone in my family plays lacrosse. It’s our family connectio...

“I was so happy when I caught that fade against Webster.  It took everything I had to get past my guy. I played football when I was a freshmen but then in my sophomore and junior year I didn’t play.  My mom didn’t want me to play because she thought it was too dangerous. I was kind of surprised when I was a starting receiver. I can’t wait for the next game the one after that because I am...

“I have been really disappointed because of my ankle.  I broke it in the JV football game on Monday. Now I can’t practice or play in the game Friday.  I am more angry than sad it's just really fun to play kick-off and punt return. I still come to the practices but it's really boring to sit on the sidelines and see everyone else play.  Hopefully I’ll heal up soon because I put in so much w...

"If something is not going my way, I would sit myself down and take a few deep breaths and think about what I should do to fix my problem at hand, and then I would use my resources like my parents or friends to help me solve my problem the best way I can."  

"I balance sports and school by always making sure I have enough time for homework and always putting school first no matter how big the game is. I always make sure I am doing all of my school work because once you fall behind that's when it gets hard to balance sports and school."  

“My biggest piece of advice would be to become someone that you would have looked up to when you were younger. I use that to live my life, making decisions I know will benefit me and things I am interested in and I know that will help me in the long run. Also just reflecting and thinking about how I can make new decisions that will improve on my old ones. This helps me stay driven, stay focused on...

[I wanted to start learning German] because of my family history. We had a bunch of family documents in German, and it was like a code to crack. I was an exchange student [in Germany] in high school, so I was gone for my junior year, and I got a degree in German and medical anthropology in college. It’s really useless. Yes, useless. I know. Then, I had a Fulbright and went to Germany for a year,...

“A big risk I’ve taken recently was deciding to take in an exchange student. It turned out very well. My exchange student and I became super close since he got here. I remember moments where we were just sitting and talking about random stuff and we were connecting on things I didn’t think we ever would be able to. I don’t think coming from different places brought us closer, but it’s just some...

“My biggest regret is last year the state swim meet I placed 4th going into the 100 back. Backstroke is my best stroke, so going into state I wasn’t too worried about that swim. I ended up swimming horribly because I wasn’t prepared for the event and because I blew it off. I placed 16th when I should have been able to podium and drop time. I didn’t know what place I had received right afte...

"My saddest moment was probably the week of September 11th. I lost two family members- not in September 11th, but they died that week. And I used to work for the state, and I was very scared to go to work. It was a sad week- like I couldn't get away from it. I couldn't really sleep, couldn't eat anything, and I actually found out I was pregnant with my daughter. It was just a very traumatic week: that...

“A lot of things motivate me to succeed — but the most important one is probably the people who I surround myself with. My teachers, my family, my friends — all people who impact me in a positive manner and encourage me to be the best I can be."

“I would say, it might seem stressful, but you gotta like go into it. You can’t let the feeling of being a high schooler get to you. Look up to the upperclassmen because they know their stuff. If an upperclassmen is like nice to you, you should always take advice from them. I made friends with Anna Fiacco. She is very sweet and nice and doesn’t look down at you like some seniors do. She answe...

“When I was in first grade, I found out that I was going to be moving from New York to St. Louis. At first when I found out, it was really hard for me because I knew that I would be having to leave behind my really good friends and my family. But now that I have lived here for many years, I have learned how to maintain my friendships with my friends back in New York and I have also made really gre...

"I choose to be a math teacher because I've always wanted to work with kids, especially at the high school level. I think that they are easier to relate to than a small child for me. I really loved it when I was in school myself. I think it's really cool to see all of the connections and patterns in the relationships that are made. I also know that math, not everyone loves. If I can even make one person...

"Mentally, the most challenging thing I've gone through is probably swimming a mile because it was really, like, it's such a long race and you're just, like, staring at the bottom of the pool while your entire body is giving out. You're overheating and your cap starts to slide off and you're losing consciousness. And you're just getting so tired and you can't stop. It's 66 laps of just nonstop death."

"So one time I was in preschool and I was with my friend and I decided that I wanted to give my sister's hamster a bath. I went in my bathroom and filled up my sink with water, and I gave it a bath and then I blow dryer it and thought it was sleeping and then I tucked it into my American girl doll bunk bed. I thought it was asleep. I thought I helped it, and then my mom came upstairs and was like,...

"The moment that I think was the worst moment in my life happened this past spring when my grandfather died, and I was very close with him. It affected me a lot differently than the rest of my family because my family was much more upset and scared that he was going to pass, but I really tried to look at it on the brighter side, and think, well, at least now we know that he's safe. Also, we were very...

"My biggest piece of advice is to not care about anything. One time, I didn't prepare for the debate competition over the weekend, and I ended up placing! Other people were rushing because they needed to perfect in everything, and they didn't break. Once you chill, you are better prepared mentally because you're not stressed. Basically just take a break, relax, and it can help you out in the long run."  

"In Belize, with my family, we went on a really, really tough hike. It took like hours and then we were climbing forever. We finally reached a waterfall, and it was like so relaxing and cool and beautiful. It was really cool that we had done all of that and then to reach the ending, it was so rewarding. I guess that shows that if you work hard, you can be rewarded. One time I didn't follow that...

"The other day I got my script for Sweeney Todd and next week is 'Footloose' auditions. Tuesday starts auditions, Tuesday is dance, Wednesday is song and monologue, and Thursday is callbacks. The hardest part is not getting too stressed about it and focusing on school while doing all of the other theatre stuff at the same time. For auditions, you have to rehearse it, rehearse it, rehearse it. You have...

"What is the hardest experience I’ve ever had to deal with in my life? Hm. Learning how to become a parent. How to become a dad. It's a total learning experience. It’s the absolute most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do in my life, but the absolute most rewarding thing I’ve had in my life. The responsibility of trying to raise a human being to become a good person, you know, it’s...the...

"I teach Broadcast Technology I and II. I love it; I've done it ever since I was a kid in high school. I went to college for it and then decided that I wanted to be a teacher and share what I know with the young kids of today. This is my third career. I decided to go back to school after I was laid off of my job. I became a teacher and a coach, and I wanted to teach what I knew, which was broadcas...

“My husband and I are in a band. I’ve always loved music and I've always loved the idea of performing, but I was terrified. I had terrible stage fright for a long time, and I would periodically push myself out there but never really found a band home until I auditioned for the band that he was in. That’s how we met. It's really been a growth opportunity for me because now I rarely get nervou...

“Work towards your own goals even if other people don’t seem to support you.  After Calc BC, everyone in my life: my friends, my teachers, and my parents, they all told me ‘Don’t take Calc III. Don’t push yourself there.’  But I knew that my goal was to study math, so I knew it was a step in the right direction. And I did it anyway because my personal goal was more important than what my...

“Something that I regret doing was I did something bad and got my phone taking away. It happened about 2 weeks ago. I locked my brother out of the house because he was being mean to me. He was chasing me around with a knife so I locked him out and my mom took away my phone for doing that.”

“The most inspirational person I know is from Indiana. He knows the answer to every question. He gives his time and love to the people he cares about the most. He also thinks he is a ninja. The most inspirational person I know never gives up on anything. He wakes up at 5:00 am and asks me what I want for breakfast every morning at 6:00 am sharp. He greets me every morning and asks if the bedbugs...

" My biggest struggle right now is doing  work without my right hand. I broke my right hand a couple weeks ago, and it's been hard writing with out it. I can't wait until I take the cast off. "

"The grass is not always greener on the other side, and I feel like humans always have a tendency to think about what they don't have and what other people have. I think that comparing yourself to others, while it can be a good thing sometimes, I think it can be very negative and lead to sort of depressing thoughts. So, I think the best advice I'd give to someone is to be happy with who you are and...

"My greatest struggle in life is getting me to focus on what's most important in life. I'm always concentrated on materialistic things, although when I come to think of it family by far is one of the most important things to me.I never really realized it until certain moments, when you think about your limited time with your family.Which is why, that's one of my biggest struggles I have come by."  

"Getting up in the morning, just kidding, not really. I guess finding clothes that fit me and don't look so feminine. I don't wear tank tops, or swim in public pools because I'm self conscious. I don't even swim in my own pool at home, its been a year. I don't want to wear baggy clothes either though, its a struggle."

“The highlight of my high school year is going to homecoming, making memories with my friends that I’ll never forget and going to sport games with my friends. I think, going to homecoming is important because it’s something you only get to do a couple of times in your life, and each time can be a different experience. You can go with different people and make fun memories that will last for a...

I don't like to open up to people especially if I don't know them very well. I have never opened up to anyone in my life because I chose to not have secrets and if I did no will know. I don't trust anyone that much, even my own parents. I hate opening up to people so badly I would rather have no secrets them tell a person how I feel. Even someone who is really close to me I haven't opened up to them....

  "My biggest struggle right now would probably be trying to get everything organized between school, sports, work, friends, family and finding my identity. In high school we go through a lot of changes. We figure out what we want to do when we grow up and who we surround ourselves with. I say this because the people you're friends with now, reflect the people who you will be friends with in...

" I struggle with procrastination with homework, I just find it hard because as soon as I get home I take naps, and then once I wake up from the nap I just wanna get on my phone, so its kinds hard to get the power to do the homework. Pros is its a very good school, has a good education system, cons is like the students don't really interact with each other, like there certain groups. I want people...

"One of the people I've had the hardest time forgiving is still one of my best friends. In fourth grade we had some issues, that blew up in a way that really personally affected me, and affected her, and affected everybody that was involved.  It took a couple years for us to solve and get over everything that happened then."

  "Currently I hold down two jobs: one at the Ruth Park Golf Course, and the other at Spectrum E-Cycling, where I disassemble computers. Ideally, I'd like to monitor a YouTube community that helps me with any technology ideas. I recently made a subreddit for my YouTube, 'MCG Tech', and hopefully I can monetize my content and turn it into a side income."

"Playing tennis is the best way for me to decompress when I am stressed about school or anything else because I love to play sports, especially tennis. I always enjoy getting to compete, which eases my mind when it comes to stressful situations inside or outside of school. When I am playing tennis, I completely forget about my problems, and I feel like I am at total peace with myself. Regardless of...

"The biggest challenge for me is staying active on the waiver wire and not knowing when to pick up a player, knowing it'll put my waiver priority at the end. I like playing because it adds much incentive to the game when I watch too. I consider myself one of the best players in the Junior class."

“Things are going pretty good. I do very much (like working here).  This is my sixth year here and my 14th year working in the special school district. We support the kids.”