Although every day feels slow, these past four years as a whole have gone by in a blink. I have been a Worthington student since I was five years old, and it is difficult to believe that it is all coming to an end. I have become the person that I am because of my time in this district. I have spent over 17,000 hours in classrooms at Granby Elementary School, McCord Middle School, and Worthington Kilbourne High School. It is hard to measure everything that I have gained throughout these 13 years, but as I looked around during Senior Sunset last Monday, I knew that my time here had been good to me. Even though it was pouring down rain, so many Seniors still showed up on the turf on a Monday night for one of our last High school traditions. We ended up playing a girls vs. guys soccer game for over an hour. I looked around the field and smiled as I watched the people I grew up with have childlike fun playing a game of soccer during our last week of school together. Day to day, it is so easy to be consumed by issues like grades, popularity, college plans, sports, or to-do lists, but when I look back on the past four years, those are not the most important things.
When I entered high school four years ago, basically everything in my life was changing. Of course, I was changing schools. On the other hand, I applied for a job at Skyline Chili, I was invited to younglife and a new church, and I joined the Intro to Journalism class my Freshman year. Though they were all new activities, every one of them stuck. Now, I have grown and excelled in everything I joined Freshman year.
One of the most important parts of my high school life has been journalism. I joined this class because I didn’t know what electives to take, and I knew I loved to write. When I entered classroom 263 on the first day of school, I was amazed by everything, even the decorations on the walls. I saw the walls lined with quotes about how journalism can change the world, and I knew that I wanted to do just that. I learned to report through my first semester in high school, and I officially joined The Ravine my Sophomore year. In The Ravine, I was shocked when I was surrounded by 25 other students who also loved to write and dreamed of changing the world. I formed friendships with students that pushed me to dive deeper into subjects I was writing about while also pushing me into deeper friendship. My two editors that year became two of my best friends. We began hanging out outside of the classroom, and I got to experience what it was like to have friends with my same passion.
Near the end of my Sophomore year, my teacher, Hemme, who I had grown to love and admire, announced that she was going to be leaving. I honestly felt angry and confused. My two best friends in journalism were not going to be there next year, as they were graduating, and my teacher was leaving too. None of the other students in the class were going to be returning either. I questioned whether I should join everyone else and quit. I didn’t know if it was worth it to be by myself and have to step up, but Hemme was the one who encouraged me to stay. We never really had a conversation where I mentioned wanting to quit and she told me to stay, but the main influencer for me was the confidence she had in me. Hemme pulled me aside one day in class and told me that she was telling the teacher for next year that I would make a great editor and that I was someone she could rely on to lead this new class. Hemme began giving me sample pieces that needed editing and I practiced going through them and making suggestions. She showed me how to work all the software we needed, and also showed me logistical things like class schedules and where to find resources for stories.
In this training time with Hemme, I grew to slowly feel more and more excited about getting to be the editor of The Ravine. Throughout that summer, I made plans to reorganize the class and incorporate some of my own new ideas. Luckily, my new teacher put faith in me because of Hemme’s faith in me, and she let me lead the way on anything that I wanted.
The Ravine has turned out better than my 16 year old self ever could have imagined, and classroom 263 has truly been my home for these last four years. Not only have I grown my passion and built bonds with my best friends, but I have found a major and a career that causes genuine excitement when I think about it. I am so lucky to be going to college to study the subject that I am so sure about, and it is all because of my time in room 263.
Another crucial part of high school for me has been younglife. I decided to give my life to Jesus and truly become a Chrisian during the summer after 8th grade. I knew I needed to give my life to my faith, but I didn’t really know how, and that is where younglife stepped in. I had a leader my freshman year, and her name was Megan. Megan had just graduated from college and was working as a full time nurse, yet still made so much time to hang out with me. She taught me how to pray, how to read my Bible, and how to live in a strong community. I could go on and on about what younglife has given me, but I am so grateful. Younglife has also shaped my future, and I am planning on leading younglife in college with the goal of helping high schoolers experience what it is like to have faith in Jesus Christ.
The final aspect of my life that has been crucial for me has been my job at Skyline Chili. I started working there at the beginning of my Freshman year and I still work there now. This job has honestly meant the world to me. Not many people get to have jobs that they love and enjoy going to, but I have been very blessed. Not only have they provided for me financially, but I have made the most wonderful friends at Skyline. I have learned how to interact with people of all kinds, how to work as a cooperative part of a team, and how to value others over myself in the workplace and in every part of my life.
If there is one thing I would advise underclassmen, it would be to explore to find what you love, and then invest everything you have in it. I have poured so much of myself into journalism, younglife, and work, and I have not been let down. I have had the most wonderful experience at WKHS, and I know that I am fully prepared for everything that the future holds.
