If I could choose one word to explain this year, I would choose, unexpected. Because that’s honestly what my experience has been. Every day was something new in the best way. And for this, I couldn’t be more grateful. Grateful for all the opportunities I have been given, and all the amazing people I have met because of these opportunities. Looking back at this year, I don’t have many regrets. This year has given me so much. This school year saw the launch of “The Column,” WHSAD’s first annual school newspaper, and to the surprise of many of my peers, myself included, it was extremely successful. The outreach and intrigue created by the paper surpassed what anybody expected. It created discussion among peers, interest in activities, and somehow created new friendships among students who otherwise may have never communicated. Beyond WHSAD, the paper also caught the interest of several notable people. Knowing that not only my hard work, but the hard work of everyone on the team has reached such a widespread scale was bittersweet; it was as if all of our hard work had paid off.
At the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year, I would have expected none of this. All of this success and recognition was foreign to me. When the first issue of the paper was under construction, it was really trial and error. I had never worked on Microsoft Publisher before, but I knew that I had to get this done. And there were several times whenI just wanted to throw in the towel and give up, but I didn’t. I knew how important this paper was to several people, and I knew the sacrifices that my supervisors had made on taking a chance with me. It would be so easy to give up but by giving up I wouldn’t just be giving up on the paper but giving up on myself and all those around me. This motivated me to persevere throughout the year. Any time that quitting has felt easier than continuing, I knew on the inside I was right where I was supposed to be, pushing the boundaries, and pushing myself. And it all paid off.
Looking back, I’m so proud of all that has been accomplished. And now that I look forward to the beginning of next year, I expect all the accomplishments and success, and the stress and pain that will come along with it. For my final year, I hope to exceed any accomplishments and achievements that have been previously made. I hope to leave the school with not only happiness but also a sense of pride and accomplishment in what we have done. I want to leave behind a long-lasting legacy. Although my reflection has been centered on my personal perspective, when analyzing the year, it wasn’t only me pushing themselves, but everyone around me. A lot of what I did and what I do would not be possible without the help and support of those around me, friends, family, staff, teachers, everyone. I am thankful and blessed to have such a supportive group of people around me to help in every aspect. So when I look at the future I hope that anyone who has the chance to improve on what has already been done, takes it. To exceed what we ever thought was possible and pass new boundaries in every aspect. With the help of every single person in my life this year was very rewarding and with the same amount of hard work and dedication next year, I am positive that it will not fall short in surpassing this year’s accomplishments. To everyone reading this who has assisted with the paper or the website, or helped me, thank you you being there and for believing in me and my passion.
Here’s to next year!
