I remember when I was an incoming freshman and stood in the large auditorium for New Student Orientation. This school felt so big, confusing and scary, but now as I walk the halls as a senior, my heart is filled with the memories of my time as a student here, and how far I’ve come since freshman year.
I’m not sure if this is only something that my friends and I went through, but since freshman year we have had countless lunch spots. We’ve sat in hallways on every floor, classrooms of our favorite teachers and even the parking lot outside when it was warm. At the time it just felt like sitting down for a much needed lunch break, but now, every time I pass the hallways that we sat in during our freshman year, a smile blooms across my face as I am reminded of the memories I made there. That smile hurts a little, however, when I remember that new people have been and will be calling that their “spot.”
Sports are also a part of high school that I will miss dearly. I’ve made some of my best friends and memories on the different sports teams that I’ve been a part of at this school, the most memorable of the bunch being my senior year basketball season. The basketball team we had this year was so different from other ones I’ve been on. Every single one of us were close and because of that, we were able to do fun team bonding activities like going to a studio to record a diss track that everyone had a verse in, putting hot pink hair extensions in our hair for senior night, tinsel for playoffs and wrestling at sleepovers. Not only were we a fun group outside of games, but during the exhausting, two-hour long practices we always found a balance between serious and silly. I will forever remember and cherish this team, and couldn’t imagine my life if I decided not to play this year.
Yes, lunch and sports are fun, but academics are also an aspect of this school that have helped shape me into the person I am today. When I was a sophomore, my best friend Emory told me to join newspaper. I was initially against it because writing 11 long articles in one year and staying after school for hours to make pages sounded so difficult. However, it was newspaper that taught me that difficult things can also be extremely fun. Newspaper also taught me other lessons that I will take with me everywhere I go in life, but that wouldn’t have been the case if it wasn’t for my teacher Evva Starr. I wouldn’t have tried so hard to get features editor and then editor-in-chief if the passion that Starr has for journalism wasn’t contagious. Her energy and dedication to teaching us made me fall in love with journalism and also look up to her as a role model and mentor. I have confided in her countless times in person and through our weekly journals because just one talk with her always made me feel better about my situation. I have so much respect for her and hope that I can be as confident and loving as she never failed to be.
Not that I’m picking favorites (even though newspaper was definitely my favorite class of high school), but another class that will stick with me forever was Amy Pollin’s AP World History class that I took my junior year. The things I learned in this class fascinated me and my friends Maya and Emory so much that we created a game for it that we like to call “Are you smarter than Heimler?” I have forgotten so much from the classes I took in the past, and even the ones I took this year, but this is the one class that I would feel confident taking a test for even now. In our little game, one person thinks of a person, event or concept we learned about in AP World and the others have to guess who or what it is by asking only yes or no questions. People usually think we are crazy when we play this game at lunch, but it is too addicting to stop. I have Pollin to thank for the love I have found for history, and the knowledge that I will clearly be keeping for the rest of my life.
If I had to give a rising freshman a piece of advice, it would be to try new things. I joined theater this year and didn’t regret it for even a second. In fact, I loved every moment of it. I hope new students that will go through a similar journey that I did when I started as a freshman will always strive to be a version of themselves that makes them the most happy. This school and the amazing teachers and friends who I have gotten to know so well have taught me so much about life and myself and I am eternally grateful for the good and bad memories I’ve made as a high school student.
Common Sense, I have loved every moment of my time writing, editing and designing for you. I will never forget the things I have learned and the laughs I shared in room 242. This may be the end of my career as a high school journalist, but the lessons I have learned here will never leave me.
