With senior year being soon to end, there is a lot of frenzy around graduation and getting to go off into the real world; that hangs just around the corner. Though right now, I’ve found that the way to enjoy this senior year the most was by just being content with where we’re at. Not rushing through till the end of the year or trying to stretch it out for longer than necessary, but just enjoying what you can and observing the small things throughout the last days of high school.

My advice to upcoming seniors would be to not push yourselves too hard. To complete the necessary things on time so that you don’t have too much on your plate at a later time, but to also be kind to yourself and let yourself take a break. My advice to the underclassmen would be a bit different. For underclassmen, my advice would be to hold yourself accountable and make the most out of what you’ve got. Overall for anyone, my advice would just be to be kind. It is always important to be kind to those around you.

I feel that the things I’ll remember most will be the good times that I had with friends, and the little moments that meant a lot at the time.

While I had many achievements athletically, most of the moments that meant the most as an athlete weren’t the times I was at a big race, or scored tons of points, or medaled, but rather the times when it was just me and my team, mostly cross country, and we were: just having chicken parm night; cutting pumpkins; sprinting across fields to pet puppies; when one of the younger runners would have a breakthrough race; comparing the crunches of leaves; and getting to know all my teammates for the wonderful people they are. There is nothing quite like becoming friends with another person. The achievement of getting to know those around me has always meant a great deal more to me than athletic success, even though I am truly thankful for the opportunities that I have had.

“My final thought is a simple but mighty thought. It is the obligation we have been given; it is to not turn out the same. It is to grow, to accomplish, to change the world.” from the Broadway musical “Merrily We Roll Along,” By Stephen Sondheim.