Editor’s Note: Senior goodbyes are student pieces that reflect on their past years in high school. These pieces take very different perspectives and the prompt was meant to be vague to prompt creativity. 

I am grateful to have lived in this community for 10 years. Thank you to my parents for constantly showing love for my siblings and I, even when we made it difficult. It’s a great feeling to know my parents have my back no matter what I do.

The amount of amazing adults in our town is incredible. There are so many entrepreneurs and successful parents that I have learned from and made connections with. Whatever business you think you want to go into later in life, there are experts in our community who will gladly answer any questions and help however they can. That’s special.

I was fortunate that many of my teachers had taught my sister, Madi, before me, so I came into class with a good first impression. Other teachers, unfortunately, taught my brother before me, and I did not have the same warm first impressions (kidding, kind of).

I can honestly say I have tried almost everything: theatre, student council, football, spanish club, computer science team, track, and newspaper. Being a part of all of these wonderful organizations has allowed me to develop friendships with people I previously would have never gotten to meet. Every person you pass in the hallways has a unique story, each struggling with different aspects of life. I highly recommend getting to know people outside of your usual crowd.

When I was a sophomore, I got my first ever C; a 79 in WHAP. I told my momma I needed to drop, and already had the papers ready to go. She said no, and we argued for a week the pros and cons, but of course, momma always wins. I studied diligently that semester,  finished with an A for the semester, and got a four on the AP test. That taught me to push through rough times. I always have that experience to look back as a foundation to what I can do when truly trying my best, and I have my momma to thank for that.

There is a stigma that seniors make “senior friends”, which are people they had known all of high school but never gotten to know personally, usually accompanied with an Instagram post captioned by “Wish we were closer the last four years”. When I was a junior, I thought there was no way possible I would make new best friends. I had my guys since 6th grade, and there was no way that was going to change our last year. But sure enough, I found myself moving in different circles than my previous three years of high school. I still have those guys, but there’s a whole other cluster of people I have become close to this year that will be just as difficult leaving.

You’ll learn most staff members will do everything they can to help you succeed, while some will hope to catch you slip up. No matter how kind you try to be, there will always be people that will not like you and will wait to see you fall. When mistakes are made, own up to them, and then MOVE ON. Life is about our reactions more than our actions.

Before the summer ends, my family and I will be living over 1,000 miles away from the only place I have ever known as home. I like to think I’ll be able to come back to Texas frequently, but I know my visits will be numbered these next four years. So Lovejoy, and Texas, it’s been real, and I wish you all the best in your endeavors. A special thank you to Coach Cox, Dr. Erskine, Coach Alexander, Brewster, Mrs. Lewis, and many others for going the extra mile for me. Love y’all.