After 18 years spent in the town of Westborough, I have mixed emotions about my departure from the only place I’ve ever lived. I am excited to see what my future holds in a completely different environment at the University of Arizona. I am excited to explore a new city, to meet people, and to learn more about the world. But at the same time, I am sad to leave the only place I’ve ever called home. I will miss my family, friends, teachers, classmates, coaches, teammates, and everyone who has made an impact on my life thus far.

This transition is especially difficult for me and the rest of the Class of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic happening right now. Without proper closure on my time spent in Westborough, I can’t help but experience feelings of heartache. Having an older brother as a 2019 graduate from Westborough, and observing how many memories and how much fun he was able to have with his childhood friends before they went their separate ways, I couldn’t wait to be a senior and feel his happiness. I never would have thought this would be the way it would play out but I’ve come to understand that life isn’t fair, and this is a great example of that.

Missing out on the senior events like Senior Ball, grad parties, Senior Breakfast, Baccalaureate, Senior Scavenger Hunt, Mr. WHS, Senior Assassin, Competition Day, and Graduation–I can only help but think about how fun much I would have been having. But even worse, it felt like our class was finally becoming closer. I know I will still stay in touch with my close best friends, but I will miss seeing those “school” friends that you could always count on for a quick laugh during a boring class. You saw them for a short amount of time during school and never really saw each other outside of WHS but always enjoyed that little bit of time spent together.

I never thought I’d actually miss waking up early to go to school for 6 hours, but right now I would do just about anything to experience just one day of a proper end of senior year.
My four years of high school truly went by in a blur. I am happy that I made the most of what Westborough High School has to offer: from working hard in school, playing sports, and befriending all different types of people. I feel that I have made many connections and learned a lot just within the borders of this town. One of the most valuable lessons I have learned is that your network of people is just as important as any piece of school work.

My best piece of advice to give to an incoming freshman would be to not stress too much about the social drama, and to focus more on what makes you happy because once you graduate, none of it matters anymore. I would also say to give anyone a chance, because you never know someone until you meet them yourself. As far as schoolwork goes, make sure you always put in the best work you can, because your GPA that’s looked at by colleges starts accumulating the minute you walk into the building. Also as far as actually learning goes, I believe it’s what you make of it and how you apply yourself to the lesson at hand.

The best way to make the most out of high school is to participate in as many extracurricular activities that you can. Whether it be sports, clubs, theater, or anything, you will meet people you never thought you would and they may end up being very close friends.

Thank you Westborough High School for all the memories and good luck to the Class of 2020.