Coming to Dominion, I had high hopes, I looked forward to the next four years as a way to make up for the past three years. In reality, I learned lessons that I could never seem to grasp in my tween years.

I say farewell to soccer practices and late night games; a bittersweet ending to a bittersweet game. Soccer taught me never to give up, it motivated me to join a travel team and most importantly proved to myself and others that I was capable of playing at a high school level.

I say farewell to long nights of homework, where I spent hours completing English, Math and Science. After whining, complaining and protesting the entire school system, I tired myself out and realized there was time for a change. I put myself through sleepless nights so I could finally learn that doing my homework the day its assigned will help me in the long run.

I say farewell to gut-wrenching anxiety that overwhelmed me whenever I sat in front of a crowd. Embarrassment over stuff that had not yet occurred tormented me throughout voice-quivering speeches. Yet, after working at Cracker Barrel, interviewing strangers, and giving speeches I learned that talking to people is not that hard.

Dominion cannot be described as the best four years of my life, rather a time of trial and error, in which I had to learn things the hard way. I know now that whatever high school I went to, it would not change the fact that I would eventually have to learn how to survive it. I’m grateful that I could spend it at Dominion.