Photo courtesy of Lifetouch

My dad has always told me that “life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% what you make of it”, while this seemed odd to me while I was younger, after my four years of WJ, I feel that this phrase is one that I can truly understand. Obviously, none of us has had a typical high school experience with all the curveballs thrown at us with Covid-19, online school and so much change in the world in just a few short years. But in the end, life will most likely never go how you expect.
On the first day of junior year, I was sitting in AP Psychology, the period before I had Journalism 1, which I had signed up for because, during the pandemic, I developed an interest in journalism and decided the Pitch was something I really wanted to be a part of. At this point, I was unsure about what the Pitch would bring for me. Walking out of psych, I saw Julia Ratner, a girl I hadn’t talked to since middle school and didn’t really like due to some unresolved 12-year-old girl tensions; we both realized we were going to the same class and walked together, talking for the first time in years.
From there, we began walking every day, talking more in Pitch and developing an equal love for journalism. A day I will never forget is walking to 4th-period journalism and realizing with Julia that we still had each other blocked on Instagram and laughing hysterically. Pitch friends became out-of-school friends fast, and today, Julia is a person I can’t imagine my life without.
Fast forward to now, one month before our last day of high school, and I can’t imagine my high school life without the Pitch and the people I have met through it. When I began high school, I never even thought twice about wanting to be a part of the Pitch as I didn’t know people who had, but as I write what is most likely my last story ever, I can’t imagine that my time on the Pitch is coming to an end.
Now, the Pitch room has become a comfortable place for me–a class that I always want to go to. This doesn’t just come from being interested in writing, but from our incredible teacher Mrs. Borrelli, who has inspired me to work hard and complete articles and pages I never thought I could. So thank you for everything, and especially for creating such a tight-knit community that introduced me to best friends I never thought I would have. The experiences I had on the Pitch, even some unexpected ones, were memories that will stay with me forever.