Some people say high school will be the “best years of your life.”

Those people are unbelievably wrong.

Yes, I enjoyed high school at points, but I could never envision these being the best years of my life. High school, for me, was an opportunity to discover more of who I am. I met so many wonderful people, and I discovered many passions I never thought I would have.

Let’s get to the mushy goodbyes.

To the teachers reading this:

Thank you for pushing me to be the best I could be. Thank you for taking me out of my comfort zone, for working with me when it was hard, and doing your job better than anyone else could have. Thank you for being patient with me. I am going to miss the personal relationships I have with the few of you so, so dearly. A few of you have had extremely large impacts on my life, and I am sure you will continue to do that with all of your students going forward.

Mrs. Wallace, thank you for accepting my journalism application sophomore year. Aaron and I were so excited to take the class, and I am so happy that I did. I got exposed to a completely different classroom setting than I was used to, and I met many wonderful people because of it. You create so many wonderful experiences in your classroom, as well as these amazing personal relationships with your journalism students. You are hilarious, honest, and unbelievably kind-hearted; you are truly like another mother to me and you will always hold an extremely special place in my heart. Thank you for everything.

Dr. J, you’re pretty cool I guess, besides the whole Seinfeld thing. Honestly, thank you for all the opportunities you gave me in theatre as well as helping me discover a passion I never thought I would follow. Also, I have literally never seen a photograph you have taken, but thank you for the photography classes and advice. Who knows, maybe you don’t even own a camera.

To the students reading this:

Get yourself out of your comfort zone; it is so much easier to do it earlier in life than later. Take the art classes, take the theatre classes, take the classes you may never have the opportunity to have ever again. Trust me, it will be worth the ride.

Andrew, thank you for becoming one of the best friends I have ever had. Thank you for joining journalism, and I am so proud that you’re now the newspaper editor. You are ridiculously intelligent, talented, and hilarious. I think you have found a wonderful calling in journalism, and I hope you continue to grow and pursue it (maybe one day we can make Dynamic Banter 2: Electric Boogaloo).

So long, and thanks for all the fish.