As cliché as it may sound, the four years of high school really have gone by fast. You always hear people tell you to enjoy your time in high school because before you know it it’s gone with the blink of an eye. And it’s not that I chose not to believe them, but I never understood what they meant until I got here. Writing this with exactly seven days left in school, I feel nothing but blessed to have walked through the halls of Westminster.

I am thankful to have had the opportunity to participate in and lead Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I am thankful to have been a part of this community, specifically on the softball, basketball, and soccer teams. I am thankful to have the parents that I do and for giving me the best education I could ask for. I am thankful to have had every single one of the teachers I’ve had from freshman to senior year. I am thankful to have had the chance to meet and become friends with not only my own classmates, but upper and lower classmen that I have interacted with. 

Even though I have had many, many highs here at Westminster, I have definitely had my fair share of lows. Following my freshman year I had to adjust with my brother heading off to college and taking on the role of an only child. Facing the effects of being the constant source of attention for my parents. Halfway through sophomore year covid-19 happened and we had to isolate ourselves from friends and extended family. 

Although the calm and change of pace that covid brought was much needed, it also brought an unprecedented two years of rules, changes, opinions, guidelines, and so much more. Covid divided and still does divide people and no one can deny that. I am thankful that Westminster still allowed for us to do in-person school junior year, but at times the restrictions were frustrating. After a while, I just wanted it all to go away and for everything to go back to normal because the mental toil that it took was not always worth it. 

Amidst the craziness of covid in my junior year, I also had to start thinking about college, the ACT, scholarships, blah blah blah. And it sucked. Being the perfectionist that I am and not receiving the ACT score that I wanted was crushing. It felt like in that phase of my life that all that mattered was the score. I let it define me before I even took the test and I did not know how to cope.

Thankfully, I had a wiser person than myself tell me that “in the midst of the busy, don’t forget to fix your eyes on Him. Tell Him your fears and worries and lay them at His feet instead of picking them up and carrying them around with you. Lay it down and trust. And remember, no one can and should do it all – you can only juggle so much before all the balls start to fall.” So that is what I did. I laid my worries, struggles, fears, and frustrations down and I started to trust. 

I would not change anything that happened to me over the last four years of my life because all of it has played a part in growing me to who I am today. Once again that may sound cliché, but it’s true. The Lord has strengthened me as a person and as a believer and I truly believe that every trial, situation, or hardship we are faced with should be embraced. I may not embrace those trials initially, but by doing so it makes them a lot easier to deal with. 

Looking back on the past four years, so many things have changed but they all have led me here, to senior year. The stresses of getting into college, overrated. I should have listened to the advice that practically everyone told me about college and I didn’t. However, here I am wrapping up my senior year and getting ready to attend the University of Arkansas in the fall, and I can’t help but be thankful. I feel prepared to enter a secular university after years of going to Christian school because I have been challenged with some very heavy things during some very formulating years of my life. I am excited for the new in every aspect of my future, so even though the end of this chapter can be bittersweet, we all have to move on at some point, and for me that time is now.