Dear Archbishop Carroll,
As I sit here, thinking about what I could possibly write in this letter, I am overwhelmed with a flood of emotions. No words could amount to the people and experiences you have brought me. It’s hard to believe that the time has come to say goodbye to my second home for the past four years. Saying goodbye to you is like losing a close friend of mine — a friend who has been through every triumph, every failure, the laughing and crying, and every moment in between.
I still remember my first day of school, sitting in Room 200, and a senior from the Class of 2021 saying, “Take all the opportunities you get and make the most of them because before you know it, these four years will go by fast and you’ll be a senior.” They were right. Two weeks from now my classmates and I will be walking across the stage and graduating together. I should be prepared by now to leave but now I feel like it is the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do. You have witnessed me grow from a small, awkward freshman to a confident young woman. As much as it pains me to say goodbye, I know it’s time to enter a new chapter of my life.
Thank you for all of the lessons I have learned, for giving me my best friend, for bringing me the joy of winning championships on the field hockey field, and for the memories I will forever cherish. Thank you for introducing me to some of the brightest adults I have ever met. Being the role model to my freshman sister, just like my older sister was to me, is too much for me to handle, considering I still see myself as the little girl in the passenger seat of my sister’s car, obsessed with Harry Potter. Knowing next week will be the last time I walk the halls as a student at Archbishop Carroll breaks my heart. Though I may be leaving, know that a part of me will always remain within your walls.
Sarah Wood
