The Climb

As I walked through Drug Mart yesterday afternoon, I recognized “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus playing over the speakers. Consequently as I sat down last night to write my blog entry, about an hour later, I kept internally singing fragments of Cyrus’s song over and over again. After the initial frustration of being unable to stop singing the song passed, I realized that Cyrus’s song perfectly reflects my experiences in AP English and my personal transformation as a result of Ms. Serensky. After receiving my first graded essays junior year, I became discouraged. I figured that I would never learn to write and that I would “fail” AP English. However I worked hard and told myself  “I gotta keep trying.” Soon thereafter I acquired my first Ms. Serensky sticker. Through the numerous in-class discussions this year and last, I have become more comfortable with public speaking. I have learned not only to speak my mind but also to become assertive. When the daily discussions first began, I felt reluctant to talk after being cut off by a classmate once or twice. These discussions served as that “uphill battle [that]/Sometimes [I’ll] have to lose.” Although my participation grades were not always what I hoped, the discussions taught me numerous life lessons. The challenging in-class essays have opened my eyes to the fact that I can answer any question with patience, hard work and determination. Some questions might “knock me down” at first, but I have learned that if I focus on my strengths instead of my weaknesses and follow Ms. Serensky’s advice, everything will work out fine and I will succeed. I never realized until now, when reading through the lyrics of Cyrus’s song, that the arduous, seemingly impossible moments and assignments are the ones I remember most fondly. I certainly struggled through my first out-of-class AP English essay about Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, but I realize now that those struggles in learning how to write an essay and the mental breakdowns I had to overcome, taught me not only how to write a good essay but also how to manage stress and deal with my own problems.  I know that as a result of Ms. Serensky’s encouragement, motivation and lessons that there’s a new me leaving CFHS, ready to accomplish my goals and ambitions not matter how seemingly difficult the climb may be.

The Climb

Miley Cyrus

I can almost see it

That dream I'm dreaming but

There's a voice inside my head sayin,

You'll never reach it,

Every step I'm taking,

Every move I make feels

Lost with no direction

My faith is shaking but I

Got to keep trying

Got to keep my head held high

There's always going to be another mountain

I'm always going to want to make it move

Always going to be an uphill battle,

Sometimes you going to have to lose,

Ain't about how fast I get there,

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing,

The chances I'm taking

Sometimes they knock me down but

No I'm not breaking

The pain I'm knowing

But these are the moments that

I'm going to remember most yeah

Just got to keep going

And I,

I got to be strong

Just keep pushing on,

There's always going to be another mountain

I'm always going to want to make it move

Always going to be an uphill battle,

Sometimes you going to have to lose,

Ain't about how fast I get there,

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

There's always going to be another mountain

I'm always going to want to make it move

Always going to be an uphill battle,

Sometimes you going to have to lose,

Ain't about how fast I get there,

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

Keep on moving

Keep climbing

Keep the faith baby

It's all about

It's all about

The climb

Keep the faith

Keep your faith