After spending my entire life in Westborough Public Schools, it is hard to imagine myself anywhere else. I can remember reading Senior Testimonials from the Class of 2017 and thinking that I had a while before writing one myself. I was wrong. It has become a cliche at this point to say that high school goes by faster than you realize, or that one minute you’re a freshman and the next you’re a graduating senior. But just because they’re cliches doesn’t make them any less true.

With all of that said, I wouldn’t change a second of my high school journey. From prom to three years of journalism classes with Mrs. Stoker, each individual experience has turned out to be an amazing time at WHS. So for my senior testimonial, I’m going to leave some parting words of wisdom with you here.

The easiest way to break this down is by grade so here it goes. To the freshman I could say something like try everything, or I could tell you not to be intimidated by the upperclassmen. I’m sure you’ve heard both of these pieces of advice at least a dozen times already and though they are both true, I’m going to take it one step further. My advice is to find your people. Isn’t that the same as try everything though? Not necessarily, for some people, freshman year isn’t the time when they want to be experimenting with a new team or club on top of the new environment of high school, their new schedules, teachers, and building. All of this newness comes with new stresses that you freshman may not know how to combat yet.

But by senior year you will be a pro at dealing with stress, believe me. Part of dealing with the turmoil of high school is finding friends that you can count on to be there all four years of your journey, to help you deal with whatever comes your way. It could be one person, or it could be an entire sports team or academic club. The number of people isn’t the important part. What is crucial though is that they have your back through thick and thin during your time at WHS.

Next are you, sophomores and I always remember hearing during the pep rally on the first day that sophomores are the forgotten year. My advice to you is to break the stereotype. Go out there and make sophomore year unforgettable. I still remember my sophomore year because it was the year that I went abroad, joined the Student Council and NHS, and enrolled in journalism two for my junior year after taking a year off. So just because you’re labeled as the forgotten year, it doesn’t mean you have to fit that mold. Because just like any other year of high school, your sophomore year has the potential to be amazing, but you have to make it happen.

Junior year is complicated to say the least. You’re looking at colleges and you’re preparing to make one of the biggest choices of your academic career. I can vividly remember the stress that came with my junior year and that’s why my advice for you is to slow down. Here in Westborough we do everything very fast. There are always moving parts and those moving parts can sometimes cause us to forget to stop and look around every once and a while. Don’t forget that you will never be a junior at WHS again, so take the 30 seconds at break one day to take it all in. Take it from someone who is about to graduate that it will be worth it. Also, you’ve probably heard this a lot, but I’ll say it anyway, it will all be okay. The PSATs don’t govern your SAT scores, and if you aren’t happy with your SAT or ACT scores then retake them. I know how stressed you are, I was there last year. But just keep calm because everything will turn out okay.

Finally, to the seniors of WHS, you already know you are the leaders of the school. If you’re nervous about that leader role, don’t be. It comes with the territory, so there’s nothing special you have to do, you know how to be the leaders of the school already so don’t sweat it. The advice I have for you is to absorb every last second of your final days at WHS. Take it from someone who spent the majority of his second semester senior year on Zoom and Google Meets, being in WHS is something I took for granted before. I never thought in my life that I would want to get back to high school as badly as I have in the past few weeks.

When it comes down to it, seniors, take the time to make your senior year incredible. Don’t worry about your GPA and AP Exam scores as much as I know you are. Spend times with your friends, laugh, and make memories that will last a lifetime. Because it’s true when they say that your graduation date is closer than you realize.

So with that final piece of advice, this testimonial will come to a close just as my high school career will at the end of this week. If I had to leave you all with one thing it would be to live today so you won’t have any regrets tomorrow. If you live by that, then your high school experience will be like mine was, that is to say unforgettable.