One of my favorite songs is “Take it Easy” by Eagles. The chorus has stuck with me a lot as I’ve been thinking more and more about graduation and life outside of school: “Take it easy, take it easy/Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy/Lighten up while you still can/Don’t even try to understand/Just find a place to make your stand and take it easy.” It’s a good reminder to slow down and to not stress over what the coming day will bring. I used to have trouble envisioning my future because I never really felt like I had an outline of what it would look like. I think the community I’ve grown a part of in high school has raised my expectations of not only the type of person I want to be and interests I’ll pursue, but the type of people I’ll want to surround myself with. 

My friendships are such an important part of my life. Finlee (the co-editor-in-chief of the yearbook this year) and I convinced a lot of our friends to join either the newspaper or yearbook for senior year. I was happy because I got to spend a lot of  time with them, which is so important in the final year of high school. 

I became a lot closer with Emma Nodello, as we were the only people from our middle school to forecast for journalism. Being in the pathway together for all four years has been really special. From going to Baskin Robbins after production nights to living in the same room on our field trip to New York City, I know I could never take her for granted. I’m very appreciative of Jack and Eban who have also been involved in the newspaper since freshman year. I think it says a lot about a person to stay dedicated to something for a long period of time. I’m very excited to see where Veda as the online editor takes the publication. I have super high hopes and I know she and Ricardo are going to do great! Jack, Eban, Veda and Emma are all such great leaders in the classroom, and I’m so glad that we all got to be working closely on the editorial board together. 

My junior year was definitely memorable. I joined the yearbook on top of already being a part of the newspaper and editorial leadership. Even though it kept my schedule busy, I learned the importance of keeping the communications classes connected. I got the opportunity to be in class for the second year alongside my brother, Max and got to have a leadership role with him, Sebastian and Jackson. I was so proud of the work we did, and it always felt so productive when we were all together. This was also the year that we went to New York, as I mentioned earlier. This experience was really fun, especially because I had never been on a school trip like that before. We got to attend conferences at Columbia University for their journalism convention, and it solidified me wanting to major in marketing in college. I got to learn so much from extremely interesting people, and it was such a highlight of high school. 

I never felt like a senior, and I still don’t feel that way. This year just went by so fast that I couldn’t “take it easy” even if I tried! Nothing can prepare you for how quick it all whizzes by. I am so excited to attend the University of Oregon that I don’t even think that much about how sad I will be about leaving McDaniel. I’m so happy that I got to be the EIC this year, and I’m so proud of everyone who was on staff for the first time because it’s such a steep learning curve that everyone adapted to really well. Thank you Miss Sb and The Oracle for shaping my high school years!