One of my last journalism assignments was to make the senior video for Baccalaureate. It started to be a very emotional task for me to look through all the memories I’ve made in Westborough. As we started to comb through all the pictures from preschool to present, I realized how quickly all this time has gone. Everyone says time flies, I didn’t realize this until I now enter my last week of high school.

All you want when your younger is to grow older, gain independence, and graduate. But now I cherish the younger years of my life more than ever, and all that I have been taught here in Westborough. It feels like yesterday that I walked into Westborough High for the first time, met teachers that would stay with me all four years who would ultimately help me reach graduation. In some ways I do still feel like a freshman, still learning new things, trying to figure everything out. And yet, I also feel like the past 4 years has consisted of some of my most impactful and educational experiences, some of my hardest challenges, and also some of my best memories.

High School was definitely not easy for me. My sophomore year I decided to go into remote learning which led to some pretty hard adjustments. I’ve always been quiet, but to enter back into in-person school after spending an entire school year behind a computer screen, was extremely difficult–and made me more anxious and shy.

Journalism was one of my first classes that finally brought me out of my comfort zone. I was forced to collaborate, share, and have opinions. Journalism for me was always a positive environment, even if you didn’t say the right thing or you made a mistake, Ms. Stoker didn’t make you feel bad about it, she made you learn from it.

I’ve always loved broadcasting the most when it came to Journalism, and I think it’s because of the collaboration that came with it. One of the best skills that Ms. Stoker and journalism has taught me that I will bring to college is how to work with others. I’ve learned to not be scared to give your opinions and speak up when you like/dislike something or just have an idea.

Before taking journalism, I always thought no one wanted or cared about what I had to say, but what I’ve been taught is that your opinions and ideas matter and it’s not fair to yourself nor others to keep all your good ideas to yourself. Journalism was a class that made my transition back to school so much easier and gave me my confidence back.

I’m scared to take this next step in my life but I am prepared. If you had told me freshman year that I would be 8 hours away from my home for college I would’ve laughed in your face. And I’m ready to experience something new and to explore on my own. I want to thank everyone who helped me get to where I finally am today: my parents who never let me be satisfied and made me work harder and harder everyday, to my siblings Ella, Finn, and Liam who are always my loudest cheerleaders. I also want to thank my field hockey and swim coaches Michelle Pasquale and Bethany Bergemann who constantly pushed me to my utmost potential and never gave up on me even when I had given up on myself. I especially want to thank all my teachers who have helped me all the way through, and to Ms. Stoker for teaching my favorite class and the best lessons that will stay with me forever.