Take me back to 2021, when everything wasn’t as serious as it is now.
I walked through Riverside’s front doors with a heart full of hope and absolutely no idea how the next four years were about to unfold.
I spent my first semester lunchtimes in what my friends and I called “The Dungeon,” which is the outside area behind the arts hall. I spent my second semester lunchtimes in Mrs. Minnick’s classroom. It wasn’t as loud as it is now. It was peaceful and quiet with my two best friends, Abby and Diana, by my side.
I took walks with my good friend Desmond. We’d talk about our days and enjoy our time outside of a classroom. To the random side quests my friends and I would go on random side quests, too, where we’d somehow miss half of class time and walk around the entire school to deliver one piece of paper to another teacher that Mrs.Minnick had sent. And then there was that first soccer season with an incredible team and such an incredible coach.
If I could go back and say something to my freshman year self, I’d definitely say a few things: Don’t try to grow up too fast, you’ll live through those typical “high school” experiences soon enough, don’t rush them.
The heartbreak you’re going through is only a small part of such a beautiful experience that you’ll have at Riverside. Don’t make it your whole world.
Your friends are your family. Please prioritize them over some stupid situationship that you’ll soon realize is not worth your time.
Please stop talking badly about other people. You really don’t know them, and it doesn’t make you a better person.
But something could really take me back, I wouldn’t change anything. I needed those years to become the person I am now.
Now, I see my junior friends going through the same heartbreaks I did, and I can only give them the best advice I can offer because I know they’ll grow the same way I did.
Carla and Ingrid, you have so much ahead of you. Please prioritize yourselves and focus on who and what helps you achieve your goals.
Ailin, I can’t wait for our next four years together as roommates. I love you so much, and I hope you don’t get sick of me.
Mrs. Minnick, you really will never know how much you’ve meant to me these past four years. Thank you so much for helping me understand the importance of self-love and healing. Thank you for building a home out of your classroom.
Abby and Diana, you have stuck by me through thick and thin. Your friendship is the best thing that Riverside gave me. I’ll miss our trips to The Loop, lunches at Diana’s house, football game prep that included covering ourselves in purple paint, and all the time we spent together. And Riverside, thank you.
