As I sit here, in one of my favorite classes, writing my last high school article, I can’t help but feel as if there is so much I want to say and no way to say it. I have a lot of conflicted emotions right now, and it’s very hard to put them all into words, but I’ll try my hardest to say the best goodbye possible.
Firstly, I’d like to give a special thanks to the Newspaper crew, especially Mrs. Gilmore and Addie Salvosa, for being amazing and passionate about what they do. Newspaper made me realize that I wanted to pursue Journalism as my major, and I’m eternally grateful for that class and all the opportunities it gave me, as well as the experiences I gained from it. I’d also like to give a shoutout to my Newspaper buddy, Bhavana, whom I sat next to throughout most of my time in Journalism I and Newspaper. Also, I’ve got to mention how cool Addie is, not only for being a great editor-in-chief but also for being an amazing swiftie, thanks for being my album-decoding buddy!
Additionally, I also want to thank my theatre trio, Kayden and Meghana, who stuck with me the entire year and saw me through all of our theatre shenanigans. Y’all are amazing and I’ll miss you so much! I also want to shout out and thank my entire friend group for being with me throughout it all, and standing by as I made the most out-of-pocket jokes known to humanity, y’all are the real ones! Harshika had to listen to me sing Mamma Mia’s “When I Kissed The Teacher” in AP Lit, but she still stuck with me and showed me what an amazing duo the two of us are. Shreya had to sit next to me and listen to every single thing I said while I was bored out of my mind in AP stats, but it’s okay because we balanced each other’s energy, also she forced me to read Throne of Glass so now we’re bonded for life by those books (I fully blame you for the amount of tears I cried reading The Assassin’s Blade). Helena had to endure my endless teasing during Lunch because that’s what I do best (how do you tolerate me? Actually don’t answer that question). Mihika, even though she was barely there, had to listen to me rant about Aaron Warner any chance I got. Suhani, God bless her, would have hours-long calls with me about my book and my crazy ideas, and she’d support me throughout it all because that’s just how cool she is (thank you, honestly!). And Keerthana, the crazy girl I share some brain cells with, was just there for everything, absolutely everything, and I’m eternally grateful to her for that.
Honorable mention to my counseling aid buddies, mainly Jena and Mrs. Love, for being so funny and amazing. They helped me TONS during the college application process, and I don’t know, and thankfully don’t need to find out, what I would’ve done without them. Also, they’re two amazing human beings that I appreciate so much, and I’ll miss them a lot next year! Mrs. Love, keep being the amazing person that you are, you truly don’t know how much you bettered my senior year, and Jena, just keep being you, you’re awesome! Also, shoutout to Duaa for being the first person I ever talked to back in Sophomore year when we all came back from virtual classes! And this wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Mr. Rankin, the absolute menace that he is, you’re amazing dude, here’s to you never running into a moving train ever again!
Lastly, I need to thank Dr. Law and Ms. Belcher, you two are amazing and I’m so grateful to both of you for being everything and more than just my sophomore and junior English teachers. I try not to think about how much I’ll miss y’all because then I get sad, but I needed to thank you for adopting me on those random early release days when I didn’t have a ride, or for listening to me rant about anything and everything. You guys mean so much to me and Keerthana, you definitely impacted us and our High School experience, and we’ll never forget you!
And, to wrap it all up, I’d also like to briefly explain what these last four years were for me. High school was, amongst many things, trial and error. It lasted both a lifetime and a blink of an eye; it marked me in so many ways and left me reeling, but it also allowed me to find new versions of myself, while losing old ones that I couldn’t carry into the new chapters of my life. These last couple of years were confusing, hard, joyous, and above all, epic (look at me kind of quoting the Vampire Diaries), and I won’t forget them.
Lastly, and most importantly, I just wanted to thank three more people: First, my parents, for being supportive and loving and all-around the absolute best. I would be nobody without you two. I love you guys to infinity multiplied by a billion, I love you more than words will ever describe, you are my home and my sanctuary. You are my inspiration every day, and I hope one day I can be half as incredible, awe-inspiring, and hard-working as you two. And to my brother, for being my sunshine and my anchor, I love you to the moon and to Saturn and beyond. I love you bigger than any star. I love you endlessly, all three of you.
In the wise words of Taylor Swift: “We are each a patchwork quilt of those who have loved us, those who have believed in our futures, those who showed us empathy and kindness or told us the truth even when it wasn’t easy to hear. Those who told us we could do it when there was absolutely no proof of that. Someone read stories to you and taught you to dream and offered up some moral code of right and wrong for you to try and live by.”
My parents read those stories to me, they taught me to dream, and they gave everything they could to ensure I had the means to do so. So, thank you guys, for everything.
And now, Siri, play “You’re On Your Own, Kid” by Taylor Swift, let’s all cry a little.
This is Carmen Valeria Laveglia Marin signing off, over and out.
