Photo courtesy of Lifetouch

When I was looking back on my past four years at this school I came to realize that this was not just the end of my schooling at Walter Johnson, but the end of my childhood. I would be out of the state school system. I would be on my own for the first time in my life. This was the death of my childhood, and in honor of this death I would like to present my will. The last will and testament of the responsibility free existence that I am leaving behind for the great frontier of adulthood.
First I would like to leave my reputation and name to my dear brother, Eric Hsu. Teachers who have had the (dis)pleasure of teaching me know my outspoken, loud, often distracted, chronic procrastinator and just generally crass and abrasive. Although, dear brother, you are the exact opposite of me in nearly all of these aspect, I leave to you the joy of having the teachers that had the joy of teaching me to shiver whenever they see the last name “Hsu” on their rosters to pray that this one is better than the other one. I want you to know that although you may be dismissive of these teachers as people who are attempting to cram useless and arcane information into your head only for you to forget it less than 48 hours after the exam, they too deserve respect and recognition. They are mentors, they are friends, they are some of your biggest fans. Teachers such as Wendy Borrelli, Kelly Butler, Adam Zeitlin, Marc Waldman, Theison Healy and Claire Lipitz have all tolerated me for years and even after I disrupted their carefully curated learning environments time and time again they continued to treat me with respect and dignity. You may not take classes taught by these specific teachers but remember that nearly every teacher in this building is willing to do what they did for me.
Next, I would like to entrust the future of the Walter Johnson Crew Team to Rowan Streaker, Chris and Kevin Chase, Aiden Kelly, Dylan Lacoix Stumpe, Gideon Aronovich, Sam Liu and everyone else on the WJ Crew team. My relationship with rowing is complicated. Often I lamented about the 12 hour days, herculean workload and rowing in the fastest conference in the nation making every inch of progress we felt we achieved feel minuscule. But the team has made real tangible progress since I started rowing and I would like that progress to continue. You guys have so much room for growth and improvement. So much time to push your limits and be better than you ever thought possible. I love the people you are and the people I know you can become. The novices have so so so much potential and they need you to help shepard them to be the best they can be. Rowing is so unique in that it is a team sport in which everyone must be of one mind and one body. Every individual ego and thought must be crushed in favor of the collective and when done correctly moving a boat fast is the best feeling in the world. I hope that rowing can offer you the same level of joy for you that it brought me.
I would also like to leave the Madrigals Bass section to Sawyer Chism and Erick Martinez. Everyday for the past four years I have taken some form of choir and the past two years being a part of the Walter Johnson Madrigals have been some of the best musical years of my life. Everyday for 45 minutes I could leave my problems at the door and make music. I hope that choir offers the same escape for you as it did me. Please be nicer to Mrs. Butler than I was and talk just a tad bit less than I did.
Finally I would like to leave this publication in the capable hands of Josh Singer, Seyun Park, Rachael Wolfson and the rest of the Editorial Board. The only reason I mentioned those who I mentioned by name is simply because they will take my former position of print editor-in-chief and not because I like them better than everyone else. As the new editorial board you have an incredible opportunity on your hands due to the unprecedented number of rising juniors that will be fronting the paper. This paper is an institution and has a real impact on the school community as you have seen throughout the many many incidences this year. I know you guys will do a better job than I did and I feel ecstatic about the future of The Pitch after my departure.