If you had told me freshman year I would grow to enjoy the majority or at least half of my high school years, I would have laughed in your face. I spent every day, specifically A days dreading school, dreading Spanish class (honorable mention), dreading life, feeling mentally drained, and completely burned out. Towards the end of that year, I decided to do something I knew I´d enjoy and sign up for a class that involved writing.
So, my sophomore year I joined a journalism class taught by the WONDERFUL Mrs. Macias. In the class, I spent my time making new friends I still talk to today, learning and falling in love with news writing, and laughing all the time. (Sorry Mrs. Macias, we were crazy) Additionally, I spent a month and a half of my first quarter of school confined to a wheelchair which turned out to be the truest test of resilience, mental strength, and it even showed me how true and wonderful my friends that year were.
That year showed me that school can be enjoyable no matter the circumstances and teachers, especially when you find yourself in a class with a teacher who makes it their effort to make school fun and enjoyable while also making sure you feel seen and heard as a human being. I decided by the end of that year to join newspaper taught by Mrs. Macias and write for our school.
This would shock little 15-year-old me, but junior year got even better. I had a WHOLE B day full of classes I enjoyed and loved the teachers. To start the day off, I had newspaper and I spent so much time laughing, writing so many stories that I enjoyed writing about, laughing with my editor friend Phoebe, and our honorable editor in chief, my best friend, Amory. The period was also spent with another friend Hayden and all four of us spent the time writing and giggling. The next two classes were with my friends (now girlfriend) Raelee, and Destiny. Although we talked the majority of our time in class, we made sure to get our work done, and learn (sometimes).
Knowing that God got me through that rough year of school to then bring me to a year of everything I´d wanted, makes my heart swell. Joining journalism and then moving forward into newspaper was one of the best choices I’ve made for myself. Additionally, the blessing of friendship the two classes gave me that year is something I’ll always remember fondly. Lastly, knowing now that 1 of those friendships turned into something so joyous and love filled, gives me all the more reason to thank God and thank myself for trusting his plan.
Now trekking towards the end of my senior year of high school, I know that no matter where I go, I can look back at my high school years and feel so much love, adoration, and nostalgia. Baby freshman year me doesn’t have to worry because God worked it out just like he always does. Newspaper saved my high school years and I can only thank Mrs. Macias for her patience, and trust in teaching us kids to write and then edit, and then to put even more of her trust in me as a young adult by letting me take over the managing editor role for the school’s newspaper The Fang. By joining this program, I made lifelong friends and learned to enjoy my school years. As much asI’m ready to graduate and get my adult years started, it sure will be bittersweet leaving this place for good.
Thank you to my Mommy for always listening to my ranting and frustrations, my little sister Sophia for always being my companion, the 2024-2025 Newspaper Staff, (love you guys) the 2023-2024 Newspaper staff, the 2022-2023 journalism students, and Mrs. Macias for always being an open ear and a resource I know I can lean on, as well as, being an amazing human being to her students always. I would also like to thank Mrs. Harper for never thinking twice about hustling the hardest for her students and lastly, Mrs. Vincent for being the coolest ever. Congratulations class of 2025, we did it!!
