Senior Moments Column: One Day at a Time

All throughout my life, I have been told I am a hard worker. Whether it’s working hard within my church, school or home, I always watched as others around me praised me for my work ethic.

I never understood why they praised me, as working hard with everything I do always seemed like common sense to me, until the day I woke up in the real world, a world filled with unmotivated people who get nothing done because of a lack of commitment. After seeing things like people quitting their jobs because it gets hard or failing a class because they refuse to turn assignments in, I chose to not let myself become like the unmotivated people I saw; instead, I decided to maintain my good work ethic, so I could achieve something I could be proud of for the rest of my life.

These past few years in my life have really tested this decision I made many years ago. I remember during my first year of high school, I felt like I was on top of the world. I excelled in classes with top grades, doing well on my volleyball team and thoroughly enjoying the experience of being a high school student. Then, it all came crumbling down in one moment.

I went home after a great volleyball practice one day, excited to tell my mother how my hard work had paid off and how I was finally able to spike the volleyball. When I walked into my home, however, I was met with a crying family who held the single worst news I had ever heard in my life: My grandmother had died. She had practically helped raise me, taking care of me when my parents had to work and eventually moving in with us in her old age.

She was one of the main people in my life who taught me what an excellent work ethic is and how important it is to work hard for my dreams. When she died, everything she taught me seemed to die, as well. It was only after I finished grieving and began to look back on everything she told me before that I realized I needed to heed her words. I could not just give up on working hard because my world seemed to crumble before me. I needed to begin building it back up before I sank too far away from my goals.

I have now almost finished my high school career, and I am enormously proud to say I have worked so hard to get to where I am. I have spent countless hours perfecting my grades, applying to colleges and preparing myself for my future. I have so much to look forward to in the future, and while hard work has helped me so far, I have much more work to do to make sure the words of people like my grandmother are not wasted. I still have my whole life ahead of me to prove where hard work truly gets me, and I am excited to spend the rest of my life learning this beautiful lesson.

Lilly Johnson is a senior at Charleston High School in Charleston, Mo. She has lived in Southeast Missouri most of her life and loves to travel with her youth group, jam to musicals and BTS, and paint during the late hours of the night.