Wow, I’m a senior. I still feel like a 4th grader, I look like one too. And I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs.
Freshman year was a fever dream—I like to pretend it didn’t happen, so we won’t talk much about it. My sophomore year, however, was the year I reflect most on. My sophomore year was filled with the highest highs and the lowest lows. I met some of my best friends but also had to endure the loss of some very traumatic friends and relationships. I grew a lot that year. I still empathize with my sophomore year me, but I slightly miss the rage. COVID hit at the end of my sophomore year; I remember reading the email out loud to my 8th period Honors English class that we would have an extra week of spring break! Oh, if only I could have known what I know now.
COVID changed me as a person, I was surprisingly productive during that time period. I grew into my spirituality, found the practice of meditation, and really began to understand the stillness in sitting down to read a book, writing in my journal, or just making dinner. I will forever cherish that time, and the time I had in high school.
Historically, I spent almost all of junior year online, at home, at Starbucks, at my boyfriend’s house, in my bed, or on the back porch, and never at my actual desk because why would I even do that?
I excelled in art and really put my focus on creativity, and I love the creations that were born from that year. Then moving to senior year, which, wow, oh my god, was a whirlwind.
I ended junior year by finding out I would have to get major back surgery. This was colossal to me, and I underwent that surgery in December of my senior year. I spent almost 2 months online…AGAIN from recovering. I mean, after all, I did get two titanium rods and 15 screws bolted into my spine.
I’ll never forget the friends I made during senior year and the teachers who were so gracious to me during this time period. I had never been more depressed in my life, not being able to move or walk much at all, but I was still given the chance to stay on track educationally and given the allowances I needed, even when OHS itself did not offer that. I have my amazing teachers to thank for that. Mr. Gothelf, Mrs. Zeifert, Mr. Whipple, Ms. Hands, Mr. Horn, Mrs. Monn, Mrs. Lavelle—I couldn’t have graduated without you.
The laughs I shared in Mr.Horn and Ms. Hands’ classes this year, the gossip I shared in Mrs. Lavelles’ class rather than doing my work (sorry Mrs. Lavelle! I still got stuff done), and the “oh boy”s I have shared with Mrs. Zeifert have all been worth it. I will never forget the friends I made this year who dropped off school supplies and my body weight worth of candy and blankets at my house when I had come home from the hospital and the generosity I was shown. From the bottom of my heart, and the metal in my spine, thank you.
If I had to sum up my mission for all four years of high school, I would have to say it was all for BIONIC. I found a home outside of home in BIONIC, a judgment-free and positive atmosphere at TALK, and a passion at HIKE. I worked all four years for BIONIC, and as a senior, I was on the board.
BIONIC changed my life and instilled the message of positivity and kindness in me. I will graduate with over 450 community service hours, and most of them I have done for BIONIC. If I had to leave a message to underclassmen it would be to go to TALK, become a mentor after that, so you can go again, and as a freshman, become a HIKE mentor. It was the best thing I have ever done.
I have put my blood, sweat, and tears into that club to make sure it will last for years to come. So when you go to TALK and put a thumbprint on that tree, just know how much that means to me, after all, I built that canvas with my dad, drew the sketch, and painted it with the help of others I recruited for the project. I can’t wait to see it grow.
Thank you to the teachers and friends I have met along the way, high school wouldn’t have been high school without them.
