I was told the summer before my freshman year that the four years would go by in the blink of an eye. As a little 14 year old, I honestly cared less about what my neighbors who were entering college had to think— I didn’t believe them. I thought that the next four years would be gruesomely long, just like the previous years I spent in middle and elementary school. 

But if there was one thing I definitely should’ve listened to throughout these “long” four years, it should have been that. While the days may feel long, the years are short. All I have left now are the memories I have made and the friendships in which I will cherish forever. 

I would not have been able to make it through high school yet alone the past 18 years without my very best friend— my mom. My mom never doubted me and encouraged me to pursue whatever I wanted to pursue and shaped me into the person I am. Her everloving guidance and patience is one in which I will adore and carry with me as I enter the next chapter of my life. Thank you, Mom, you are my rock and my pillar of strength, without whom I would not be who I am today. 

As the past 4 years/1,461 days/5,064 hours have flown by, I am left to look back on the countless memories I have made. While not everything has been sunshine and rainbows, like I had first believed (High School Musical did not accurately depict high school), I have many things to look back on, such as being apart of the three time state champion lacrosse team, feuding and laughing in AP Lang during competitions (quickly followed by tears during a timed write), and time spent heading to school early with friends for different clubs and meetings. 

However, one of the things that I am most proud of from my time spent in high school is what I achieved in my tenure with DHS Press. Even though I started more unconventionally, skipping over Intro to Journalism and starting my first year in the newspaper on Google Meet, I was able to get a quick grasp as to what the class was truly about. For many who pass through the journalism program, it is easy to become swept away with the fast paced atmosphere, the amount of freedom you can have, as well as the personalities that take up the small, cinderblock room in the further corner of the basement, but I was able to fit right in and find my place. 

DHS Press gave me my voice. While every teacher I have had since my freshman year, all 30, in fact, would tell you that I came into Dominion with a loud, rambunctious personality, I never truly learned the impact that my voice and my opinion could have until I joined the newspaper. I had learned exponential life skills within the program, as I am now going off to college with the ability to talk to people from all walks of life and properly communicate and express myself. 

My four years at Dominion would not have been accomplished without the endless encouragement and support from Mr. Schwartz. Mr. Schwartz always motivated me to try new things and advocate for myself, helping me believe in myself and in my abilities. My journey as a journalist and student would not have been possible without his endless cultivation and strength. 

I am so incredibly grateful for the time I spent at Dominion and the amazing humans that I had the pleasure of getting to know and the immeasurable amount of memories I was able to get. In the fall, I will be heading 2,807 miles west to the University of Oregon. I will be playing Division One lacrosse and I am planning on majoring in Journalism and International Relations/Business. I will be taking the copious amount of skills and knowledge in which I have garnered at Dominion to help me experience memories just like the ones here, and it will probably all go by in the blink of an eye. 

Yours truly,

Caelan Jones, EIC