Class of 2017
Academy
Williamsburg
Abigail Rosengren
Hi!! This is me. Abby. :D (I don’t really go by Abigail.) I’m honestly super confused about how to write this senior page. I haven’t really felt like a senior till now. I’ll just have to give this my best shot! :D
Life has always been full of adventures for me. Before Williamsburg, I moved quite a few times! From Utah to Oregon to Washington to Montana to Colorado, I’ve experienced a lot of different schools, made a lot of wonderful friends, and welcomed new siblings into my family. It was in Montana after I finished 3rd grade that Mom decided to homeschool us. Apparently, I would come home from school crabby and irritable. (I have no recollection of this. I’m preeeeeetty sure I’ve always been an angel, but Mom could tell some stories that would discredit that.) Anyway, I had a love-hate relationship with homeschooling. I remember looking out the window in the morning and stay all cozy and warm inside the house while my poor friends were freezing in the cold waiting for the bus. That wasn’t a bad moment. But I also remember crying at how frustrating the assignments were. It took a lot, a LOT of discipline on my part to finish school during the day. But I finally started getting the hang of it.
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Then, enter LEA--Leadership Education Academy, my first interaction with Blackboard Collaborate. Online classes were an exciting experience for me. I LOVED making friends with people all over the United States! My first two classes were Teen Leadership, in which we read Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens, and the Hunger Games. I learned to discuss books and open my mind to new, deep ideas. It was a whole new world. The next two years of classes prepared me for Williamsburg, although I didn’t know it at the time. I also met some amazing people and a few of my favorite who became
Williamsburgers with me. Jared Severn, Megan Halverson, Katie Larsen, Dallin (Fernando) Flake, just to name a few.
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Before I move on to a new topic, I have to include the most important part of my life before Williamsburg: my family. When I turned 14, I was the oldest of 7, and I cherished (and still cherish) my role as a big sister. My family has been the biggest blessing I’ve ever had.
Here enters Williamsburg. We had just moved to Colorado, and I was thrilled with the prospect of this wonderful school. I remember my first class, the one-week summer course of Ed Tech, where I was welcomed in with open arms. Being the youngest was different, as I’ve almost always been the oldest in every class or group I have been a part of. I felt little and new, but highly valued.
Freshman year was by far the most difficult of any year of high school. (This year is catching up, but only because senioritis is more of a real thing than I expected. I’m working to keep that at bay.) The difficulty for me was the increase in workload. Sure, the LEA classes had homework--lots of reading, a couple essays--but nothing like my five Williamsburg classes had. The hardest part was transitioning from being the main help in the house--taking care of my siblings, cleaning, cooking, etc--to being a student.
Writing about it brings up the emotion again of how guilty I felt, doing school literally all day while I neglected my chores and spent less time than usual with family. It was difficult to have my role change. Now, I needed to focus on myself a little more. It was time to build up Abby.
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Williamsburg has been another journey of its own. Not only that, it has been an indescribable blessing in my life. I learned that mentors are more than teachers--they are friends, they are on a journey through life WITH me. When I think about it, I become overwhelmed with gratitude. Isn’t it amazing that these people teaching us are also learning with and from us? Where else can I find that if not here?
I have learned how to value friendships with people near and far. I find it beautiful to think that a friendship between a girl in Colorado and a girl in Idaho can last so many years. The relationships that grow from Williamsburg are what set it apart, I think, from every other school I’ve ever attended. These connections literally span hundreds of miles. That is truly special.
As far as what thought I’d like to leave with you, here is the most important: learn to love yourself. Learn that you are worth it. You are worth this education. You are worth the love you receive from your friends. You are worth the endless hours of hard work. And you have no idea who you’re going to inspire in the future, who you’ll truly end up being, so don’t take yourself out of the game. You
matter oh so much. Someone loves you beyond belief. So please, value yourself. Give yourself the love you deserve.
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I’m still learning that. Sometimes it’s hard to remember how much you’re worth. :)
I love our motto this year, from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” Sometimes it’s scary to go your own way, isn’t it? But it’s exciting too. That’s where courage comes in--pressing forward, despite the fear. Isn’t that powerful? And the more you act with courage and faith, the less room fear has to exist inside of you.
Now, as the oldest of 9, I’m blazing a new path for myself. It’s going to lead me to serve a mission for my Church! Leaving my family for 18 months will be the most difficult thing I’ve ever done . . . But 18 of purely serving God and sharing the Gospel that is so dear to my heart? I can hardly wait for this precious opportunity. And after that, college! And a family of my own. Isn’t the future exciting? Ah! :D I’m excited to continue learning, too. Not just academically--learning to love others, to love myself, to become the woman I’m meant to be. How grateful and blessed I am to have the opportunity to grow amidst everything life has to offer. Life is the most precious gift I have ever been given. ♥
(Oh and here is my most precious beautiful amazing family that is also the most humbling gift I’ve ever been given. I’m lucky enough to be big sister to all these cuties!! And best friends with my parents. ^_^)