It is difficult for me to face the reality that I just titled this paper “My Last Observer Paper”. My last four years at Churchill and last three on The Observer flew by. All of the relationships that I have made on The Observer have grown with me over the years. I am so thankful for my decision to join the J. Everyday walking into a classroom of familiar faces was the best part of my school day. Sophomore year, our small group of amature journalists became our own little family.

In addition to the sense of community that The Observer provided, the paper truly grew my passion for writing. I viewed this class as an opportunity to explore the Journalism world. My J1 year was pretty much when we learned all of the basics: in-design lessons, radical writes, article insights and all the how-to’s on interviewing.

High school was an unforgettable experience, and although it definitely had its ups and downs, reminiscing over my time on Gainsborough road warms my heart. From the early morning classes to Friday nights watching football games, I have made an endless amount of memories that will stay with me forever. Although my time was essentially cut short, overall, I think I made the best of the time that I did have. 

During my unforgettable years at WCHS, I made memories that will last a lifetime. The friendships I made I will always hold close to my heart as my childhood friends. I get excited just thinking about us all reuniting in Potomac during our first college break. The lessons that I have learned-from the ups and the downs- I believe were necessary in building my character.

Even if you aren’t in such a tight knit, cool, fun group like The Observer, I still recommend that you talk to everyone and anyone in your classes. Over the pandemic, something I realized most was that I missed the people who were my “school friends”. You know, the people you get close with that you only see in school and somehow have classes with every year. I personally think those types of relationships are incredibly valuable, as it is good to be friends with people outside of your “friend-group”.  This goes along with indulging yourself in other smaller WCHScommunities; join a club, or maybe even start your own, try out for a sports team or explore somehow, the options are really endless.

Overall, I made sure to indulge myself in the many different opportunities WCHS provided; things ranging from office hours with different teachers to a recent senior drive-in movie. The drive-in movie felt like our class finally had the sense of community we had been lacking during the past year. Everyone was gathered together, all masked up of course, outside all hanging out on blankets, catching up and watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off . This was the best sense of having some sort of normality I’d had in a long time. 

One memory that I’m disappointed I missed out on was standing in the front row of the bleachers with all the other seniors at the Friday night football games. Leading the student section in different cheers and getting everyone excited was something I looked forward to for years. Although we are lucky to have some of our sports season this year, it just is not the same without a crowd full of your classmates. 

I highly recommend attending every single sporting event you can. Football, lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, tennis, ice hockey, poms and cheer competitions, every single one. There is something special about supporting your friends and classmates. 

The rush of everyone chanting together and all routing for the Churchill team is exhilarating, and in my eyes, unifying. At the end of the day no matter what grade you are in, your gender or really anything else, everyone in that student section is on the same side: Churchill’s. I think that at these events is when I feel the most invested and involved in my Churchill community. 

I hope if you got anything out of my last thoughts it was to really enjoy high school while you can because it flies by in the blink of an eye.