There is so much I could say about my time here and so many people I could thank for helping me become the person who I am today.

First and foremost, thank you, Archbishop Carroll, for being the place where I met my best friends. When I was first deciding between different high schools, I was tempted to go somewhere more local where I knew most of the kids already. However, none of those schools can compare to Carroll because of our diverse student body that brings in people from all over. If I had not come to Carroll, I would have missed out on so many wonderful and long-lasting friendships that I will cherish for the rest of my life. 

In addition to these relationships, Carroll has offered me numerous opportunities to try new things. For example, I have loved participating in THON, Unified Bocce, and Ceramics over the past few years. These activities are not accessible to students everywhere, which makes Carroll an even more special and unique school in my eyes. I also enjoyed going on Kairos this past March and growing closer with some of my classmates. 

If there is one thing that I could go back and tell my freshman year self, it is that your time in high school will never feel long enough. Although I had heard this phrase said countless times before, I never truly understood what it meant until this year. The pandemic made me feel like my senior year was cut short because of the hybrid learning schedule and cancelled traditions. Despite these changes, my senior year at Carroll has been the best one yet. I have learned how to appreciate the small moments with friends and teachers and make the most out of every day. I began to finally look forward to being in the school building and seeing all of my classmates again.

I am so grateful for all of the amazing memories that I have made at Carroll and for all of the life-lessons that I have learned here as well. Although my time in high school is coming to an end, I can happily say that there is nowhere else that I would have rather spent the last four years of my life.