August 5th 2015. The air was warm and it was about midday as I looked out of the window of the airplane to my left, emotionally and physically exhausted. Emotionally exhausted because I had to say goodbye to all of the amazing friends that I made for what seemed like the thousandth time, such is the life of growing up in a military family. Physically exhausted from the long flight from Honolulu, Hawaii to Washington D.C. I will always remember the days leading up to school, whether it was trying to keep in touch with friends with a six hour time difference, or frantically reading “A Doll’s House,” the summer reading for AP Lit.

I was excited to start school because it would give me the opportunity to meet new people, but was in awe when I figured out that my school was going to have over 2,500 students. School started the day after Labor Day, and the weather was getting cooler and leaves were falling off the trees, to signs that fall was on the way. Classes were moving along fast, from memorizing the different bones and muscles in the body in Human Anatomy, to procrastinating on a journal for Government. Out of all the classes that I was taking, the one that will always stand out in my mind is Journalism. Whether it was the animated personality of our advisor, Lindsay Benedict, or the sense of community that Highlander staff provided. Journalism was always more than just a grade for me, it was a way to meet new people and put yourself out there. It was through Journalism that I met two of the most amazing people you will ever meet, Shanzeh Umerani (front) and Caroline Watkins (back).

The experience that Journalism provided was also one of the reasons that it was one of my favorite classes. There is three conventions each year, and each convention has different sessions that talk about Yearbook, Journalism, and Broadcast media. Although it was expensive, I was the only student that was able to go to all three conventions in Orlando (where I met one of my best friends Meryl Menezes), New York (where I got to know Caroline and Shanzeh), and Chantilly (where I received lessons from a photo journalist). Through attending all three conventions, I learned so much about Journalism and was able to apply what I learned into my writing, which earned me senior rookie of the year, but attending all three conventions also gave Ms. Benedict the opportunity to tell people that I was on my world tour, not even giving up the opportunity to tell a good number of people that my world tour was at an end at the high school cafeteria during the banquet at the end of the year.

Journalism did three major things for me during my senior year: 1) I made amazing new friends that will last a long time. 2) It gave me an idea of what I want to study at California Lutheran. 3) Journalism was the reason that I fell in love with McLean, Virginia. While I was only going to get one year in McLean, I wouldn’t take it back for anything because it was one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever had and while it’s said to think that I won’t be working for The Highlander anymore, I am grateful that I get to work on another magazine and meet amazing new people through The Odyssey.