Senior Columns 2023

How do I even say goodbye? As I look back on this journey, I am so proud of myself. These last four years have been the hardest and most amazing years of my life so far but I wouldn't change a thing. Each year came with its own challenge though, freshman year ended abruptly because of Covid-19, I still remember being in my English class taught by John Cooper, who is one of my favorite teachers, I had...

I am so ready to graduate. The past four years of my life have been… an experience. It wasn’t all bad. I learned a lot of interesting things and met a lot of cool people. But I will never again have to sit in class for 35 hours a week. And that is an encouraging thought.   I’d be lying if I tried to give you the impression that I know what I’m doing. Sometimes I wish I could have...

At the end of each year whether you are an apple music user or a Spotify subscriber, your year of listening is recapped. The phases of life experienced during that year can be digested in the analytics of your music listening. My milestones as a high schooler can be witnessed in the various genres I gravitated toward throughout my four years of high school. When I started high school all the way back ...

During my freshman orientation, the senior leader of the group told me that the four years of high school would go by really fast. I didn’t believe her, to me it felt like high school would never end. She was right, and before I knew it, my senior year started along with the overwhelming task of applying to college. Neither of my parents went to college, and the only one of my relatives who did fin...

Dear William two years ago, I remember the moment you walked into the journalism class, two weeks late without any FOJ experience. You definitely did not know what you were doing. You were new to West and just wanted to have fun and meet new people. You certainly didn’t know how pivotal this decision was for you. So before you join, here are some tips. First, don't be afraid to step out of...

When I think about my high school experience in (mostly) hindsight, it’s clear that my time here wasn’t at all like the nostalgic coming-of-age movie I had envisioned for myself so often as a little girl. Due to the pandemic, my experience as a teenager was forced to become quiet, a bubble in which I spent more time with myself than with anyone else. To be honest, I don’t really have any memor...

I’ve always had a journalistic influence in my life: my mom. Watching her cover late-night elections and the latest from the Farm Bureau was a prevalent part of my upbringing. So, as a high school freshman, it was only natural that I enrolled in FOJ. High school journalism was very eye-opening in a variety of ways. For one, I learned all about a fantasy card game from Robyn Barton as one of my first...

I still find it very strange that I’m going to be graduating soon. Of course, it’s only now that my time in high school is up that I feel like I’ve started to get the hang of it, figured out what my priorities are and how to manage my time and stress levels. It’s kinda like the movie ““Nanny McPhee””: now that I get it, I have no choice but to move on from it.  If you’re readi...

It seems fitting that I’m writing this at 3 a.m., weeks after the deadline — just one last (senioritis-infected) hurrah, I suppose. The truth is, I thought long and hard about what to write, but no idea seemed to stick. So, I did what I always do in times of trouble: I listened to the “Mamma Mia!” soundtrack.  With 55% on Rotten Tomatoes, “Mamma Mia!” offers a surprising number of lif...

Nearing the end of my senior year of high school, I am now looking back on my previous years and reflecting on how much I have grown and changed. In just four short years, I’ve gone from a freshman with braces, bangs and glasses to a senior ready to walk across the stage. During those years full of face masks and uncertainty, I always found a home in West High journalism. Since my first day in Foundatio...

12 Confessions from a Newspaper Newbie.    It wasn’t until my senior year that I was able to fit journalism into my schedule, and at that point, I had completely forgotten how to format anything or even conduct an interview and I was too scared to ask because I hadn’t taken FOJ for over a year.  While on staff, I often felt like an old man taking a kindergarten class where I was ju...

I, Lily, honestly can’t believe I’m graduating high school already! Looking back at my four years at West, I realize how much I’ve grown. Everyone always says that it goes by in the blink of an eye, but I didn’t actually believe that phrase until now, with just a few days until I walk across the stage. I’ve learned to soak in every single moment, the good and the bad. When I stop for a minu...

Welp, it feels very weird to be writing this. Considering the number of times I contemplated quitting journalism, then decided not to, then contemplated quitting again, it wasn’t clear if I would ever write a senior column. But alas, here we are. The designer-photographer faces the demon of writing one last time in her high school journalism career. I know what some of you may be thinking: ‘...

On long walks, I always make sure to smell at least one flower. A bloom on a honeysuckle tree, a daffodil on the side of a path, a lilac bush. It’s a small goal, but it makes even the longest of walks seem beautiful. I consider high school to be a long walk. So many miles, it feels impossible to complete. But when you take the time to make it beautiful, it seems that much less impossible.  This...

High school may have its ups and downs, but one (speed) bump always stayed the same — the ever-cursed West High parking lot. The chaos that ensues everyday at 4 p.m. on the dot is the stuff of nightmares. Outsiders may think, “It’s a parking lot, how bad can that be?” and fail to realize the strategy, endurance, and both physical and mental strength it takes to be a pawn in the madness tha...

If you’ve ever heard me speak, you’d probably use the word “extra” to describe me, or at least, my language. Everyone has been pestering me to include “slay” somewhere in my column, so I might as well center this around my iconic language (see, I’m already doing it). With the help of some of my most-used words and phrases, here are some things I’ve learned in high school. “I hate pe...

I went into this show expecting an inspirational coming-of-age story. What I got instead was a decent romcom — minus the romance. The decision to not have a single love interest was certainly an interesting one, but it ultimately rang true to Rose's character. However, I will question the inclusion of the COVID plotline in the second season, her sophomore year, and the director’s decision to wa...

I cry at least twice a week, sometimes daily — I even have a cry calendar (my favorite day to cry is Tuesday). Looking back on the past few years, I decided to reflect by recounting a few of my most memorable cries. Sitting in the back of Mr. Norton’s eighth-grade geometry class, I stare at the “85/100” on my test. A B? The waterworks begin. Little did I know, in bio, calc and physics, I’d...

Sitting in the back of our 2000 Toyota Corolla, I spent most of the 10-minute drive to gymnastics with my nose pressed to the window, watching buildings, cars and trees zoom out of sight. As a child, I often wondered, ‘Why don’t the trees come with us? Will I ever see them again?’  Now, as I imagine myself driving to college on my most extensive journey yet, I look back on all the trees I passe...