These past four years have taught me a lot about myself and allowed me to take chances that I wouldn’t have gotten elsewhere. As someone who came from a very small school, graduating class of 22 people, I never thought that I’d get outside of my comfort zone, I’d stay where it felt right, safe even, and never take any risks. By the end of this senior year, I proved myself wrong, and it is the best feeling. Take risks, if you want to do something, do it. Don’t worry about the failure because you will always have people there to pick you right back up and keep you going.
I want to thank all the teachers who gave me the chances to do the things I eventually fell in love with. Thank you, Ms. Christie, for recommending me for the school newspaper, I was able to learn so much in the class and be a voice for the student body. Thank you, Ms. Frederick, for allowing me to return to my role in the Madrigal dinner and even allowing me to have a larger part as student producer. Thank you also for being the voice of reason for me and being able to help me through the stressful time, for being understanding and above all, for being a role-model to all you encounter. Thank you to the choir boosters for supporting the choir at all times and becoming a part of a family to me. We wouldn’t be where we are without you. Thank you to Amanda Dirienzo, the musical director, for allowing me to take on some of the most important jobs in the musical and trusting me to be a go-to person despite last year’s musical being my first year in crew. Lastly, thank you Ms. Butler for not only being my newspaper adviser, but being an adviser of life to me and the other staff members. You are always there for us when we are having issues and easily help us find our way.
Now onto the students. There are so many that I would love to thank, I could go on for paragraphs, but I’ll keep it short. Thank you to every one of the choir kids. You have been my family for the past four years and are why I am who I am today. You trust my judgement through and through and are always there for me when I need you the most. When I first joined choir, I never thought I would become what I am today, a leader. I would have never gotten there if it wasn’t for all of you. A leader is not self-made but made by those around them. The people choose the leaders, even when the leaders may not see it in themselves. The joke is that I am the “mom” of all the choir kids, but it’s not a joke to me when I have the people I care for coming to me for help. Thank you for letting me be that “mom” figure.
Thank you lastly to Julie Johnson, despite us knowing each other for less than two years, you have stuck with my weird self for whatever reason. You have helped lift me up and even my lowest of moments and I am proud to say that you are my friend. You are there whenever I need you and I know you always will be.
These are the people who have taught me how and what it means to be a leader, but also a friend to all which I think is by far the most important thing. They have taught me so many skills that I will carry with me far into the future and I wouldn’t change a single thing about my high school life. They made me into the person I am today and I’m proud to say that I’m happy with the person I see.