Wow. Senior year. It’s finally here. It’s funny to think that just a couple of years ago, I was eager to get out of middle school. Now, I kind of don’t want to leave.

In a couple months, I’m going to be moving into a dorm and starting college. Time flies by fast.

I didn’t start high school at Watkins Mill, but I’m finishing my high school career here. I actually started at a high school in Illinois, 700 miles away. I was never super popular or the nerdy type. Just super average. A lot of things happened in my junior year and I ended up having to move to Maryland for my senior year. Yeah, it was sucky that I had to move away from my friends. I was super anxious about starting over. Like how was I going to make new friends?

Luckily on the first day of school, someone came up to me and knowing I was new, asked me if I wanted to hang out with her friends at lunch. Soon afterward, I came out of my shell and made tons of friends. Even my grades started to improve. I was put into the journalism class and I will have to say that it is one of my favorite classes to date. I was doing pretty well in that class, enough that Mrs. Confino asked me to join newspaper.

Newspaper has been fun and an awesome experience. It’s gotten me to explore more about the school and meet others. It’s really improved my social skills and how to interview people. If you have the opportunity to join, do it.

Walking across the school and looking at all the little things is sort of nostalgic in my final days of high school. Most of my memories are from a different school, but there are still memories here that make me smile.

I want to thank my peers and teachers for helping me feel welcome here at Watkins Mill, but most of all, I want to thank Watkins Mill for giving me the opportunity to let my self-confidence grow. I also want to thank the school for opening my eyes to a whole new perspective on life.

I leave my peers with some words of advice: go out and do something that’s out of your comfort zone. You only have so much time in high school, make the most of it. You don’t want to have any regrets when you’re reflecting upon your high school career. Who knows, you might discover a new hobby. 

GOOD LUCK