Courtesy Lifetouch

As the youngest of four children, I saw all of my siblings go through high school, and I always wondered what my experience at Walter Johnson would be like. After four memorable years here, I can now say that it was everything I had hoped for.

I’ve made so many wonderful memories at WJ. The Pitch is what stands out the most. Writing for our high school newspaper has been an honor. It’s been a great experience to work with my fellow staff during after-school press, putting the paper to bed. I want to thank Mrs. Borrelli who made The Pitch special. She supported me in every article I wrote, and with her warm presence, made The Pitch a welcoming community that I’m grateful to have been a part of. I’m lucky to have had such a wonderful teacher all four years of high school.

In addition to The Pitch, cross country and track have been some of the highlights of my high school experience. I can’t express enough how special it was to run for such an incredible team. I’ve made some of my closest friends in cross country and track. My teammates could get me to smile through anything (even mile repeats). I’m so appreciative of Coach Marty who made cross country and track more than just a team; he made it a community, a family.

Another notable part of my time at WJ was when I co-founded The Gilmore Girls Club. While it may not be the most serious club, I’ve enjoyed bonding with our fellow club members over a beloved TV show. Every Friday, I would look forward to feeling as though I was entering Stars Hollow.

In a way, high school is kind of like a small town such as Stars Hollow. We see the same people every day on familiar routes we take to get to class. Some of these people, we’ve seen nearly every day since elementary school. But once we graduate and go off to college, it’s as if we’re leaving this small town that we’ve all grown up in together.

There’s a reason why all the best movies take place during high school. While high school is short, it’s a special time in our lives. High school is the first opportunity for many to be a part of something — whether that’s a sports team, a club, band, or if you’re lucky, the newspaper. But no matter what it is — a sports team or an academic club — each shares the same purpose of serving and representing our school community.

This brings me to the most valuable advice I have for incoming freshmen: be yourself. High school goes by fast, so enjoy and savor every moment. To quote Ferris Bueller, “If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Don’t waste your time trying to “fit in.” Do the activities that interest you and be with the people that you like. We only go through high school once; so don’t go through it as someone who you’re not.

My sister once told me that I’m nostalgic before it’s even possible to be nostalgic. For instance, this year when September ended, I was upset because the first month of our senior year had finished. So you can imagine how sad I must be now in these final days we have left of high school. Whenever my friends count down the days left until school ends, I cover my ears because I simply can’t bear to hear it. It’s always been hard for me to say goodbye to something special.

But as my brother would tell me whenever I used to get sad about the ending of something memorable, “Don’t be sad it’s over. Be glad it happened.” Or, in the words of Dr. Seuss, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” So, whenever I get a little teary eyed about the end of high school, I remind myself of how grateful I am to have had such a wonderful experience at Walter Johnson. And while it’s sad to finish one chapter of our lives, it’s important to remember that we have many more to write ahead.