<p>@SallyStephens that’s the spirit! You will be more than fine, based on this post! :)</p>
<p>@PolyglotGal Thank you! I sure hope so… </p>
<p>@SallyStephens I’m not going to lie, your enthusiasm throughout this thread really made me smile. I’m a junior in a big public school that’s extremely competitive as well, so I totally understand this whole thing with rank. It can get obsessive, so whenever you feel yourself getting too much into it, I’d advise you to step back and really reconsider. Think about who you want to be, what you want to learn. It really helps with the stress of trying to maintain perfect grades and such.</p>
<p>As others have said, take the classes you want to. Learn the things you want to. Do the things you want to. In my rank obsessed school, extracurriculars are looked over more often than not, but that’s how you find your passions and invest in them, IMHO, and also show colleges what passions you have. Find some stuff, outside of school, that you like to do. You’re only going to be a sophomore, so you have plenty of time to explore. </p>
<p>Keep up your competitive nature, but to an extent. Competition can be so motivation (trust me, I have the experience), but don’t get too caught up with it.</p>
<p>Oh, and this guy you’re competing with sounds lovely. Keep up with him, it’s not often you find people so open and genuine. </p>
<p>@Almondjoy7 What a coincidence, because your enthusiastic reply made me smile! This made me very happy, thank you for your kind and motivating words. I’m going to email my counselor in a few minutes to check my end of freshman year rank; the official rank I got after my final report card. I’m extremely nervous! I hope to receive good news. I’ll definitely let everyone know honestly what happens. </p>
<p>The boy is definitely lovely. We may or may not be a little flirty with each other, but I don’t know what it means. I try my best to keep the friendship because he seems awesome to have around but it could also be a situation I should be a cautious of. </p>
<p>And thank you! I will try my best 
Thank you for understanding as well. The competition can get crazy but I promise not to lose myself in the process… 
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