Four years down the line, 31 stories written (32 if we’re counting this one), over 250 stories posted to the website and 29 preplans later, here we are. My last story ever for The Tower.

It feels like yesterday I was signing up for honors journalism, not exactly sure what I was getting myself into. All I knew was that it was going to be out of my comfort zone.

Turns out, it was, and I’m glad it was.

Growing up, I had always been quiet and introverted. I was always that student who did their work on time and stayed silent unless spoken to. Honors journalism and The Tower changed that for the better. I’ve come out of my shell drastically in more ways than one.

From interviewing random people to transcribing to writing stories to leading my class, I’ve improved my social, writing and leadership skills.

Fun fact, Tower is also the reason why I can type well! So take Tower if you’d like to get better at typing.
As I sit here trying to think about what else I’d like to say, I have no words. My high school experience has definitely been something.

Having lost a year to the COVID-19 pandemic, it came with the good and bad. Focusing on the good, I became closer with my family, and it also served as a big period of personal growth, allowing me to form beliefs and understand who I am.

My biggest takeaway from high school is to always try your best, but never beat yourself up about any mistakes you make along the way. Like Hannah Montana once said, “Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days.”

Unfortunately this column is ending, so some flexes I would like to share are: I’ve gotten every single One Direction Heardle in one try, I’ve gotten over 200,000 views on a TikTok and I have kind of gotten over my fear of lightning.

Now to my thank yous.

Thank you Tower, a second family of people I will miss, but I will not miss tracking down a handful of you for your missing photos. Love you all nonetheless though!

Thank you to my dad for letting me do what I wanted and always supporting me along the way. Thank you to Edge for being a mentor and friend. Thank you to Michael Hamilton and Becca Koch for being the best associate and supervising web editors. Lastly, thank you to my mom, grammy and grampy and grandma for doing your best to look out after me.

Keep on scrolling.