As I’m sure some great philosopher somewhere said, “The present is just the accumulation of our past selves combined with our hope for the future.” What this means is that the present is a perfect mixing of past and future, and senior year is the perfect time to realize this. I’m leaving behind this school and just being a child, to go beyond and become an adult. While the idea of me being a responsible adult causes me a lot of panic and anxiety, all that’s more than matched in hope. My goals and ambition outweigh my fear.

And honestly, everything I do this year has been conflicted between the past and future, high school and college. Either by me realizing this is the last time I act in our fall play, or how my interests will change in college. Even in this, writing about my future, but procrastinating until the day before it’s due is very reminiscent of most of high school.

All being said, about how both the past and future define us, I would like to take a moment to thank a few very important people throughout my high school years. Firstly, Mrs. Ross. The greatest teacher of all time. Both in class, and out, I was encouraged as a writer and a person and I believe my ability to write today was largely dependent on having her as a teacher.

Another person I would like to thank is D’Arius Bibbs. While I’ve had less contact with him of late because of this truly awful year, he’s remained one of my best friends throughout. He was actually my first meaningful I made here at Heritage, and while he still has one more year, he’s definitely helped me through my three years and made them some of the best ones of my life.

The last person who holds significance to me is Logan Espinoza. While I’ve known him the least amount of time, since junior year, he’s had undoubtedly the biggest impact on my life. From joining music man alongside me, to hours upon hours of phone calls, to even attempting to co-write a screenplay! He’s been one of my best friends since I met him and helped me improve as a writer and a person. He’s the embodiment of neutral good and has had a huge impact on my character. Because I knew him, I have been changed for good.

This is a time of leaving the past behind and moving forwards, but I’m so grateful I have this chance to give a proper goodbye to the people who mean so much to me. So thank you so much to the people on this list, while I have had a positive experience with the majority of people I’ve met at the school, you lot stand above and beyond.