For the past few weeks… okay months, I have been counting down to June 6. I just kept thinking, “Soon I’ll be free of high school and everything I hate about it.” But as I was dancing at prom, joking around with my friends, I looked around and saw the faces of  the people I’ve met over my four years at Wenatchee High School and it made me think back to the first time I ever set foot in this building.

I moved to Wenatchee the summer before freshman year and after moving so many times, a part of me believed this town was just another stop. Little did I know, WHS would be my home for years to come.

I wasn’t quite sure where I fit in at first, but I found a place in the English department, more specifically in publications.

This past week, I have started to realize just how much I’ve gained while going to this school. I went from looking at the pages of The Apple Leaf wondering how I could be involved, to being on staff for three years and becoming the Editor-in-Chief. I went from being afraid to approach new people and participate in class, to interviewing random people and feeling like I was finally a part of my school. I went from being quiet and unnoticed to speaking in front of large groups of people.

WHS taught me that I could do things I never thought I would achieve, it taught me that I shouldn’t care so much what people think, and it taught me to enjoy every day that I have, no matter how hard it may seem at the time.

While I won’t miss certain things, there are a lot of things which I took for granted and that I didn’t realize how much I’d miss them when my high school career was over.

I’ll miss chanting in the student section at football games, hearing the familiar songs of the band at assemblies, feeling united with fellow students simply by the glimpses of purple and gold, seeing familiar faces in my classes, and frankly, walking these halls which have been my home for so long.

So here’s my message to underclassmen: I know there are days, sometimes weeks, when the last thing you want to do is get up early, or sit through a pep assembly, or stay awake for another hour of your least favorite class, but take time to appreciate WHS.

As cliché as it may sound, take pride in your school and everything it has to offer. It may not seem like much to boast about now, but come the end of your senior year, finding that a big chapter of your life is ending and a new one is just about to start, you will reminisce and wonder how time flew by so quickly.