Thank you for this journey.

Through all of the shared struggles and the memories made over 3.75 years, I have grown into who I am, surrounded by the most wonderful people.

I want to thank those who've stuck by me, those who both helped me at my lowest of low's and celebrated with me for my successes. I owe a lot to you and I am eternally grateful.

Although this is not the goodbye we all imagined, I am glad to have met such an open, warm group of talented artists and teachers. Class of 2020, I know you will go far.

Best of luck,

Angel

This year unexpectedly taught me a lot about myself.

Graduation and applying for college has been a far-off goal of mine since early middle school. I have always tried to plan out my next three steps in order to best prepare myself for the future and the end goal: getting into college. I had laid all of the groundwork for so long, but when the time came to face the next step, I found myself in over my head.

I soon realized that I wasn't as prepared as I thought, not as smart as I thought, and not nearly as good of a writer as I thought I was. In short, I learned that while there is value in preparation, there will always be surprises and always be moments where you find yourself humbled.

In this so-called "race to the finish line", I matured and changed a lot, for the better.

My advice to the rising senior class is to breathe. Prepare as much as you can, and then breathe.

I wish you the best of luck.

-Angel