I’ll be completely honest. I have been putting off writing this article for a while now. It’s now approaching a week since it was due and I am finally sitting down to write it.

At first, I wanted to blame it on the “senior slide” as people like to call it, as it is certainly in full effect with a week left of high school for us seniors. Then, I wanted to blame it on me being occupied with other things like Mr. WHS or getting paperwork done for college. 

Ultimately, the reality is I’ve been putting off writing my testimonial because it makes me emotional. For people that know me, I am not the kind of person who gets sentimental. But, when you face me with the task of encapsulating all the memories I have made here in a single article, it’s difficult to put it on the page. And, it only further scares me because I am two weeks away from graduating and I haven’t a clue what the next chapter of my life entails. 

When I first moved here in fourth grade, I had absolutely no friends. It was a difficult change for me. My old school (St. Bernadette’s) was all I was used to—I was walking into an enormous school with probably almost three times as many students in three grades than St. Bernadette’s. That school was kindergarten through 8th grade, so that pretty much puts into perspective how much of a change I was in for. 

Now, when I fast forward back to high school, I find myself feeling lucky to have found all the people I have met. 

Instead of doing the typical chronological recap of high school, I would like to just say thank you to a bunch of people and touch on some things as I do so. 

The first people I would like to talk about are my friends (Lombo, Lel, Brady, Greg, Tommy, Jake, Nagi, Mehtabh, Eshaan, Jack, and Jay). This friend group was rather large, but I would not trade it for anything. I can still remember when we didn’t really know what we were doing inside this school during freshman year. Obviously, since then lots of things have changed, but it’s been fun to grow up with you guys, no matter how hard you are on me.

The next people I would like to thank are those involved in the basketball program this year. For those of you who don’t know, in a game over the summer before this school year I tore my ACL in my left knee. I was unable to play the entire season. I didn’t really know after that if I wanted to continue to help out with the team. Ultimately, I decided to help out in any way I could as a captain of the team. I’ll be honest. It was tough on me for the majority of the season. I had to sit there and watch the rest of the team play every day while all I could do was sit there and watch during my senior season. Everyone on the team asked me how I did it. It dawned on me that I could because of the people around me. They were always there to support me, talk to me if I was down about not playing, or just joke around. 

A specific person I would like to thank from this team is Coach Willar. He really took me under his wing after I told him over the summer that I would not be able to play. He made sure I was involved in whatever way I could be and was always a person I could talk to about just about anything. For that, I will be forever grateful. Thanks Coach.

Another person I would like to thank is Ms. Greer. Being a student of yours for 6 years, I have been in your classes for a long time. I’m frustrated with myself that I didn’t audition for a bunch of more ensembles and groups in the choral department at WHS while I was here, but regardless I sincerely appreciate your kindness and constant encouragement through all my years here. I always enjoyed being in choir and will definitely make an effort to get involved in it for the rest of my life. Thank you.

To Mom and Dad, thank you so much for all you have done for me and continue to do. I cannot put into words how important your unwavering support and advice is to me. And Emily, good luck being the only child for the next two years. If you ever need them to stop hounding you, just give me a call.

Now for journalism and The Lobby Observer. Mrs. Stoker, your classes have been the best part of my day throughout my career at WHS. Being one of your students for J1, J2, and Advanced Journalism, I was truly lucky. I learned so much about writing and finding my voice in your class. I could finally write something other than an English essay, and for me that was lots of fun. Likewise, your ability to help me out of writer’s block during conferences was always a life saver. Hopefully I won’t run into that issue too often in college.

Overall, I would just like to thank everyone at WHS for what they have done for me. Whether it was a joke I overheard one time, or one tiny conversation I had with you, just know that it wasn’t for nothing. That is what I will miss most about this place. The relationships I created in or outside the classroom. They were all for a reason, and even if they didn’t last long, I’m happy you were a part of my experience here.

Lastly, for those of you reading this who are non-seniors at WHS, don’t take anything for granted and just know that time absolutely flies. 

I get it. These are clichés and everyone says these things. But it’s one thing for people to say it, and another to actually be living it. I really did think my time would never really run out here. And yet here we are. 

Thank you Westborough High School. It’s been real.