Surviving a cliffhanger

I never could have imagined that high school would end like this. It feels like COVID-19 has left 2020 graduates holding our breaths at the edge of a cliffhanger, asking ourselves and the world, “This is seriously how this ends?”

To be brutally honest, high school was a bleak, unfulfilling job until the beginning of junior year. I had no friends and was unaccustomed to public school, as I had been to a Montessori school from K-8th grade. The only way I could wrap my mind around such an alien environment was to perceive it as an obstacle to be conquered.

However, The Howler changed everything for me. As soon as I walked into that fourth-period classroom in Aug. 2018, I knew I was finally a part of something that meant something. I didn’t feel like that weird, loner kid anymore. Newspaper gave me a voice, an identity at Wakefield. I honed skills I knew about and explored others I didn’t. I met the most amazing and unique people who opened up to me and who I felt comfortable opening up to. In the past two years, I have met people who have prayed with me, believed in me and listened to me when I needed it. My newspaper advisor, who was also my AP Language and Composition teacher, continues to inspire me beyond measurement. Through the victories we student journalists have accomplished, she has supported us and uplifted us without asking for any credit or recognition. She encouraged me to become Co-Editor-in-Chief when I didn’t believe I had enough skill or experience to do so. Joy Tekotte is the kind of woman that celebrates with you when you succeed and lifts you up when you fall, all the while she is conquering her own world of hills and valleys. 

I guess the plot twist to this story is that there is no real happy ending; there is no ending at all. Somebody hit the “pause” button on senior year and forgot to resume. COVID-19 is a lesson in gratitude for the little things; the holiday parties in class, the “Fri-yays,” the ad days and the rest. These lessons and memories will grant me hope, solace, joy and inspiration as I jump into the waves of my future. In the end, I don’t regret a moment of it. 

Wakefield, you will be missed. Bright blessings upon you.