Change is Growth

I have always struggled with change. I didn’t understand why things couldn’t just stay the same. Why my officer team had to change every year, leaving my first district team, having to watch my favorite seniors graduate. It didn’t make any sense. A lot of times I find myself thinking “last year we did it this way”. I’ve come to realize that focusing on how something WAS isn’t very productive. This summer, my life changed quite a bit. New relationships, turning 18, and changing my career path. I’m constantly wishing things would go back to how they were. When I got elected as a district officer for the second year, I was more scared than I was the first time. I wished the team could stay the same and we’d have the same exact year all over again. I was worried everything would change and it would be completely different. 

Starting a new school year is always full of change. New teachers, new students, even more homework than last year. It can get quite chaotic. After all the changes from this summer I thought I would be miserable this year. I missed my friends from my vocational school, and I had all new classes. Until I was walking out of school one day and realized I actually felt better about this year. Maybe those changes over the summer were helping me grow. I felt older, smarter, and good about myself. All the time I spent thinking about the past, life kept moving forward, and shaping me into a better person. Changes in your life allow you to grow as a person. In the moment, those changes might seem like your life just ended, but I promise, your life didn’t end, and you are going to keep growing. 

AJ Cooper, 2025-26 Vice President