High school is a very complicated time in one’s life. Many say high school was the best four years of their lives, and if so, they definitely peaked already. Others look at it as living hell and count down the days till they walk across the stage and can say goodbye forever. I don’t feel like I fall into either of these two categories. Many people focus on either all the good or bad aspects of high school, but don’t look for the in between. The in between is where we all grew into ourselves and learned from one another.
In these four years of high school, I have made lifelong friends and met people that will forever have an impact on me—some of those people being The Pitch staff. The Pitch has brought so many different people together that otherwise would have just walked by each other in the hallway. While writing this with 12 school days left of my senior year, I can truly say The Pitch and WJ as a whole has influenced me so strongly. I am walking out of this school with math terms I will never think about again and some college credits, but more importantly, a sense of collaboration and teamwork.
Going to such a big school, it is hard to find your place and a sense of belonging. I was lucky enough to have a group of girls that have stuck by my slide for all these years. Friendships as a teen girl can be very hard and confusing. Though, I don’t think there is anything more beautiful than having genuine friends who care about you. From having friends since kindergarten to meeting my best friend sophomore year, I can truly say I have learned and grown so much just from the influence of my friends. The support they have given to me makes me feel like I have a personal cheerleading squad. I am sad to leave them but I will forever be thankful to WJ for bringing them to me.
Though all four years here at WJ have brought lots of highs and also many lows, senior year has been my absolute favorite. Going to Quebec, Canada with the grade was so much fun and a memory I will tell everyone about in college. I think that these last few weeks have been my favorite: work is winding down and graduation season is around the corner. While this is very sad and has definitely taken its toll on me, it brings me a sense of accomplishment and comfort. It’s amazing to see all these kids I have learned and done life with for the past four years, about to go on to the next chapter of their life. While I am sad to see my classmates leave, I am proud. I am proud of myself and everyone who is going to be walking across the stage on June 6th.
Looking forward to my future, I will be attending Auburn University. My sister is there now and my mom is an alumni. For a little, I struggled with this feeling like I was just following in their steps and that I am not gonna have my own “story.” With time and consideration I realized that I wasn’t scared about Auburn, but just taking that next step in general. Though I am still scared and shaking a little just thinking about it, I couldn’t be more excited and ready. While finishing this reflection I am thinking about all the memories I have made. I will forever be grateful to WJ and The Pitch for making me feel like I had a place here and for getting me to the point where I am ready for that next chapter of my life.
