Katelyn Sajewicz

I truly hope that people who say that high school was the best years of their lives are wrong.  Or at least that statement won’t apply to me. Don’t get me wrong, high school is very important and you should at least try to have a good time, but I know that there is so much more for me and my class after we graduate.  High school is more than learning (or not learning) the curriculum, it also begins the age of self-exploration.  I entered the ninth grade a completely different person than who I am today, and the journey that I took to get to where I am today was so hard but unbelievably worth it.  

One thing that everyone must know about high school is that people will leave you and you will leave too.  And that is OKAY! I know that sometimes it feels like you had your happiness ripped away from you. But, spoiler alert– you will find that happiness somewhere else, whether that’s within yourself, another person, or an activity.  Happiness and friends are ever-changing, and so are you. I promise there will be people who will support you and will stand by you, but it is also important to understand that you and the people around you are growing, and sometimes you grow apart, and it is for the better.  You will most likely be a different person from when you first walked into high school than who you are when you walk across the stage to accept your diploma– and that is a good thing.

The most important piece of advice I can give is to find something you care about more than anything else in the world, something that inspires you everyday, something that makes you so passionate that high school will go by faster than you can blink.  For me, this was newspaper. I have been on staff for THREE YEARS. Entering staff, I was unsure of who I was and who I wanted to be. But then, I found my home in the newspaper staff and my voice through writing. I had never in my life seen a group of people more enthusiastic, passionate, and completely in love with what they do, and who are so unapologetically themselves.

Through newspaper, I have discovered what I want to do– to major in political science and journalism, ensuring that the voiceless will have a voice.  I have also found friends that mean the world to me, including one of my best friends who will be my suitemate in college.  I have been inspired by the writing that I have done, my staff members, and my teacher. I have never been more proud of anything in my life than I am of my writing for The Howler.  It has been an honor serving as Editor-in-Chief this year alongside one of my friends and supported by the best group of people that Wakefield has to offer.

High school is so hard– academically, socially, and emotionally.  High school is also the time for self-discovery, and the time after high school will be even more challenging and exciting.  I cannot wait to see what the next chapter holds for me. It will be scary, but it is time. I am endlessly grateful for having discovered The Howler, I would not be the person I am today without it.