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Review my Final Essay please Criticism wanted

Hey i had to write this essay lol for english class.
Prompt: who was on on september 4th, and who am i now. How have i grown intellectually and physically!

Please read the full essay before judging, also fee free to criticize as much as you can (on topic)
Who am i? is the question that I have been asking myself since I first leaped into high school. My journey throughout 9th grade has taught me many things that will contribute to helping me grow intellectually and personally. I have had many experiences that taught me who I really was. I started school september 4th, without any real knowledge of high school. Beginning my quest to find myself started on that day. I was inexperienced , young, and immature; but throughout my days i really learnt what it meant to be a high schooler. I started high school as an unripe apple, young, immature, and new but now i have grown into an intellectual and mentally capable human being, through experiencing many things that helped me shape my future.

I started the year off with a bad start, i hung out with the wrong people. My mother always told me, you freinds determine who you are. When i first stepped into school, i had no idea of the influence that your peers can have on you. Associating yourself with good people will help you become better as a person. My friends had a stronger impact on me than my parent. I would always try to be a "popular" kid. Being popular in middle school was something we teens sought after. Throughout the year, i learned that friends aren't everything. I started to talk to "good" kids, this helped me alot because i learned to not be a self absorbed, immature, and uncaring person. They say that the #1 influence on teens are their peers, and they are right. My friends now included a group of well-behaved kids who were just as confused as i am on this . We taught each other things, helped each other out, and bonded on a personal level. Having these friends to rely on really helped me to know who i am.

Having a good group of friends had a positive influence on me, but leaving school changed everything. On january 15, i had to leave school at South Lakes because i had moved to vienna. I was devastated, my peers who i have known since kindergarten would no longer be in my life. When i came to oakton, I was very sad. I did not know anybody and was feeling lonely. My grades started to drop, and I urged my father to transfer me back to South lakes. The atmosphere at Oakton was very different. I was used to relaxing in my class, not doing work, cheating on tests. But when i came to oakton, i realized that i needed a personality check. Even though i was depressed, i wanted to achieve one of my freshman learning goals. In order to maintain my 4.0 GPA, I started to push myself forward by preparing myself for any schoolwork that i had. I realized that the person i was at South Lakes had been "fake". The person i am now, and the person i was on September 4th were 2 different people. Moving from south lakes really helped me find out who i am. I learned that when life throws a problem at you, only you can solve it. Moving to vienna really put a burdon on my, but my perseverance is what really helped me. Learning to adjust to different environments will really help me throughout my life. I am thankful that it had to take me transferring schools, to teach me this lesson. I will always cherish and remember this experience as a future reference when i'm "in a pickle". Life is hard, but you can make it easy.

With my experience from moving to Oakton i had learned to try new things. Throughout the end of the year, i had almost grasped my knowledge of "who i am". I was missing one thing that was needed, responsibility. Throughout the years of middle school, i had slacked and was not responsible for my own actions. I had tried to join the freshman football team of South lakes, for the wrong reason. I had no intention of taking on the responsibility of what it means to be on a sports team. I had wanted to become a football player to become "cool" and gain many friends". The coach realized this and kicked me off the team. Throughout the end 9th grade i had learned that i was a well-rounded person. There was still one thing missing, athleticism. I had never really enjoyed playing any sport besides football. Playing football gave me a positive outlook on life. I want to join the Oakton Jr-varsity football team. I realized that i was not in the best shape of my life. I had slacked throughout the year of being a freshman, and lost my physical performance. . My new friends urged me to join next year, but i could not cope with being physically unfit. I had to start going to workouts if i wanted to join the team. I really urged myself to maintain my weight, get stronger, and improve my speed. Going to the gym really helped me, because i realized there were teens out there just like me, who are willing to sacrifice time to achieve a goal.

In conclusion, i have finally learned who i am. The person that walked into school on september 4th, is different than the one walking out on june 18. I changed physically, intellectually, and mentally. I have learned to try new things. I no longer feel the urge to be a "cool" person. I have learned to put important things first. I have learned to try new things, persevere throughout the year, and urge myself to become a better person. I have always associated myself with trouble-makers, realizing they will not help me achieve my goals as a freshman; i have learned to make new friends. Transferring schools had an influence like no other. I had sought to change myself throughout the year, but this phenomenon had changed me severely. I no longer cared about anything. As the months past, i made influential friends that helped me with my situation. Throughout the end of the year, i had still not achieved my goal, start on the football team. I had not been in my physical peak throughout the year, so i started going to bi-weekly workouts, trained myself, and learned new techniques. Now, finally at the end of the year, i have finally achieved what i was searching for, knowledge of myself. I have grown from an immature teen to a mature adult. The person i was on september 4th, and the person i am now are completely different people.