Well, it’s the end of the 2020-2021 school year, and all students can officially say they survived another year at Eastside College Prep. While this year was extremely unpredictable and not how I planned to spend my senior year, I don’t know if I would have had it any other way. 

Throughout the year, I’ve talked to students regarding their opinions on how this year went for them, and nearly every student held a different perspective. Some felt that this entire year over Zoom has been detrimental to their mental health or academics, while others said that this time allowed them to focus on themselves more than they could before.

To me, this time really made me see my classmates in a different light. Not just my fellow seniors, but all students and teens. If all these students could deal with a pandemic that took over nearly half of their high school career, they could overcome any obstacles thrown at them. I know that sometimes it doesn’t seem like it, but one day we’ll look back and be proud that we surpassed all these obstacles. 

My Journalism staff was the reason for this realization. They amazed me with their resilience this year. It would have been so easy to just stop coming to class, push off interviews, or to just leave the editors high-and-dry to take over their work. While they might have procrastinated, they still finished their work and produced a newspaper that truly threw light on what was going on in the world when we couldn’t even leave our houses. 

I’m proud to say that I leave the Eastside community in good hands. I know that all current and future students are going to try their hardest to manage the rigorous workload that comes with Eastside College Prep, and trust me, if I was able to do it, so can you. 

Look at us, guys: We finished another year at a rigorous and demanding high school, all during a global pandemic.

As I leave to head on a new journey for the first time in four years, I’ll always remember this one thing: I went to school at Eastside College Prep, where I know I will always have a community to rely on, no matter how old I get. 

I can’t wait to see the achievements you all make in the future. I’m rooting for you, we’re all rooting for you, no matter where we are!