This is one of the most unsettling feelings I have ever had run through my body. Over the past couple years, I’ve had the pleasure to sit at the journalism tables with guys like Zach Walker, Alex Badger, and of course, Ryan Guilbeau, as they wrote their Senior Testimonials. Yes that is great and all, but the biggest takeaway I get from that experience now is that I never thought it would be me. All I know is driving downtown, going through the disastrous intersection of West Main/ Church Street, and coming to Westborough High School. Although this place has provided me with unmatched levels of stress, negativity, and many more adjectives, I can never look past how many life changing people and opportunities I have had the chance to cross paths with. I never thought that I’d be able to look down at my own two hands, and count down the number of days I have left with my fingers.

Ah yes, the elephant in the room. The life-altering, record breaking, elephant in the room. COVID-19. I remember being ecstatic for having a free two week relief period for my junior year stress. After that, another week. Then another. Ultimately, the 2019-2020 school year went right down the drain. School has never felt the same. As I sit here writing this in my period 4 Advanced Journalism class, mask on, I can barely remember my high school experiences without COVID regulations. In the end, it provided a lot of adversity, unfortunately not the kind of adversity everyone wanted.

Getting through this rough patch of a pandemic was very difficult at times, but the only thing that was able to keep me motivated were the people around me. My friends, my family, some amazing teachers, and many more. It took me years on years to find motivation out of high school, only to understand that countless people were cheering me on. I had to learn to stop looking for the validation from people I didn’t need validation from. I truly think that’s what high school is, no matter if people like it or not. Kids are always trying to “fit in” with the right people, listen to the “popular” genres of music, doing things that they believe would boost their self confidence. The best part of high school is realizing that that is not the case. No one cares about what you do, who you hang out with, and so on.

Despite all of these depressing narratives, high school is responsible for some of the brighest moments of my life. I met some people who will forever be a part of my life. From classes, football, and many more.

I want to thank all the people who helped me get through the trenches of Westborough High School, and I would like to congratulate and wish good luck to the Class of 2021.