If you told me my first day of high school was 1,371 days ago it would be hard to believe you. Most people will say you’ll be graduating before you know it, and yes, you will be. I never would’ve thought that I would have been a part of journalism for three years when I first stepped into my intro to business class freshman year. Here I am, two days left of newspaper class, writing my last piece for DHS Press.
This was the one class I looked forward to coming to for the past two years, when I was on broadcast I had no clue what I wanted. I started high school thinking I wanted to be in fashion and then I took this class and realized I could maybe make it to ESPN and report for something big with journalism in my future. Mr Schwartz already knew I was a relatively extroverted person, but he pushed me to find a voice in journalism and get out of class to use the F word (facts).
People say that journalism is not a real elective and I could be spending my time doing something more achieving like taking more AP courses. But somehow I have managed to take three AP exams this year and still was nominated for a journalism award. Anything is possible, I know that sounds cheesy but I will never regret taking this class because L620 will always be remembered with happy smiles and maybe some rolled eyes but that’s what made this class fun.
My time at Dominion has taught me so much about who I am as a person. I have worked for so many accomplishments that I dreamed of getting when I was in elementary school walking through the halls of the wall of fame here. As a freshman I made the varsity lacrosse team where they had a reigning legacy of winning states three years in a row. Going to states as a freshman was overwhelming but so honoring. That showed me that I will have long-lasting memories with the athletics here and it is now the end of an era as I am about to become a narp.
I wouldn’t have been able to get through high school without my biggest supporters, which is my family. My siblings drove me to school everyday for two years. First my sister where I got to spend at least one year of high school with her, then my brother where we were almost late to school everyday my sophomore year. I will never forget every game my parents were at, even hearing my mom and dad scream “Leroy!” from the stands was so embarrassing but it is something I will forever cherish. They never doubted me and carried me to be the strongest person I could be.
Some will say High school is the best time of your life, but am I excited to start fresh. I am excited to say goodbye to this new phone policy and advisory, but I am not excited to leave this classroom where I interviewed many people, edited articles all class and played Kahoot which I never won. Although high school is not like the movies, you can definitely make it your own movie, it’s just what you choose to make out of it.
In the fall, I will be heading up North to Pennsylvania in what they call “Happy Valley”, where I will be studying Public Relations and Advertising. Penn State will give me so many new opportunities and hopefully I will end up working in the sports industry, one day with a big company like ESPN, and not my OG childhood dreams at New York Fashion Week. I’m sure it will go by quickly just like my four years here, but one thing I do know is my story doesn’t end here, we are!
