On my first day of high school, I had one single thought: “I can’t wait to get out of here.” I didn’t really know where I wanted to go, just the fact that I wanted to leave so badly. That specific feeling I can’t name never left, but it became quieter as I made more friends, joined organizations, and fulfilled my bucket list. Never have I imagined I would be writing so many stories, telling people’s lives, and in the process, making my own. It took me a while, a long, long time to figure out what I wanted to do. I still think it’s silly that I was expected to figure out so much at 15. It was worth it in the end, challenging myself with harder classes, trying out officer positions and doing the best I can. I didn’t become perfect and so many of my plans changed, but now I can focus on doing good. I’m so excited to grow outside of high school, and I promise to continue my love for writing even as I pursue medicine.

To the 2025-2026 staff: Everyone has been incredibly fun. I enjoyed the small banters, the debates, the challenges and the feeling of having a role to play in newspaper. Playing the imposter game before winter break and how stupidly bad I was at lying will never not be funny to me. Thank you to everyone for tolerating my complaints in the middle of class about the most random things, from college applications, to workload, how incredibly broke I was and even my love for Roblox. Most of the staff this year was new, so I felt even more of a need to do better and help with editing. Hopefully I didn’t do so badly. I hope some of you will choose to return to the press next year. I cannot wait to check in from time to time. 

To Pinkham: I know. I know I should stop my obsessive drinking with Red Bulls, but I promise every time you saw me pull it out in class, it was absolutely necessary. “Attack the heart before it attacks you” is what I say to myself to make me feel better. I will definitely miss you lecturing me about it (maybe). Though I hope every time you see a can of Red Bull now, you get reminded of that weird student you once had who would always have a stash in their backpack. I never really thought we would get so close when I first joined the staff junior year — but I’m glad it happened. I loved hearing your stories, and I hoped you didn’t mind my stories either. Who needs a therapist when you have Pinkham? Please don’t let life stress you out too much, but I can assume there will be some difficulty since you’ll still have Gabriel next year. Please reach out to me if anyone is giving you a hard time. Love you so much.

To Hale: You were the reason I discovered the school even had a journalism team. I remember you in your suit, visiting all the Harmon English classes to inform students about newspaper and photojournalism. Although I never had your class specifically, you still played a huge role in my success at UIL journalism and helped me improve my writing so much. I enjoyed it whenever you would tell me and Yasin random, strange facts throughout the day, unprompted. I love your passion for knowledge, and I hope you continue it.

To Ren and Rebby: You guys are my day ones. Ren, I have known you since first grade and Rebby, since fourth grade. If anyone knows me and how much I overcame, it would be the two of you. From my silly phases and crashouts, to the absolute wreck I could be at times, you guys always stayed. We always know how we are feeling from just a single glance. Soulmates must surely exist because I have met the both of you in this timeline. No matter how much life changes or how far we eventually go, every road somehow leads me back to the two of you. There is something so rare and comforting about being loved by people who have seen every version of you and still choose to stay. I truly cannot imagine my childhood or high school years without you in them. A true friend accepts you for who you are, but also helps you become who you should be. Thank you for always helping me re-discover myself when things got tough.

To Lauren, Yasin and Alyssa: Lauren, I have known you since we were both sophomores in AP World and from then on, we have survived every single class together and we truly are trauma bonded. Thank you for always being so loving and thank you for your awesome car rides — you are the best driver I know. I am so glad I get to call such a pretty, smart and humorous girl, my best friend. To Yasin, my future lawyer, when I first met you junior year, I was intimidated by your beauty and my perception of your “elegance” — that was far from that truth (lol). This semester, whenever I got a call from you, my heart would drop to my stomach because we always had the same exact problems. I don’t know what kind of crime we committed together in our past lives, but I am so incredibly proud of us for making it. We have seen each other at our absolute worst this semester and you would listen to me even when I was too anxious to swallow my food. Thank you. To Alyssa, I will continue to be the person I am because of you. Thank you for always having morning walks with me, sharing food with me and for paying my Spotify premium for a good nine months. Thank you for being vulnerable and honest with me. I cannot wait to experience college with you.

To Elicia and Lewis: Elicia, thank you for showing up for me, whether it was at the Chin festival or when I wanted to watch Hamilton the Musical in theaters. You bring such an easy warmth wherever you go and being around you always feels comforting and fun. Lewis, it’s so strange to think we would have never met if I had not volunteered for the NHS parade decoration that random Saturday during junior year. We clicked almost immediately, and from then on, you became truly irreplaceable to me. Your advice, your humor and the effort you constantly put into our friendship made high school feel far less suffocating. The two of you always knew how to make me laugh even during the worst moments, and I hope you know how much your presence genuinely mattered to me. 

To Vy and Amirtha: My dear friends from middle school, from our weekly Gacha edits during quarantine to staying up late at night calling and playing horror games together, some of my favorite memories of growing up will always include the two of you. Vy, I barely noticed how much your face changed until I looked back at our elementary yearbook, and realized how much you actually grew up with me. I am so grateful I found the courage to ask you to be my friend during recess back in third grade. Amirtha, even though we ended up going to different high schools, I am so thankful we never let the distance weaken our friendship. Somehow, no matter how much time passes, we always fall back into place naturally with each other. I still have that starry whale painting you made me in eighth grade, and I hope you know that I look at it often. I think that is what makes long-term friendship so special, not just growing up together, but continuing to be involved in each other’s lives. I don’t feel sad thinking about our future. If anything, I feel excited knowing we still have so much life left to experience together.

To Sophie, Isabella, Abbey and Tory: My middle school gang! When I bury myself in work or academics, I tend to forget what truly matters, which is being myself and surrounding myself with my dear friends. Thank you for always inviting me out and making sure I was included in every baking session and video game night. Even when you’re aware I’m busy, you guys always, always reach out. Every single moment spent with you allowed me to drop the stress I was carrying and just exist without any pressure to do more. Thank you for always keeping me in your thoughts. I love you guys so much.

To my parents: Thank you for choosing me to be a part of the better future you imagined. As immigrants who weren’t able to pursue a higher education, you both worked tirelessly every single day of the week, yet never failed to make time for me. From showing up to every school event to constantly accommodating my schedule and driving me where I needed to go, I want you both to know that I see the effort. As I take this next step into the future, I hope to keep making you guys proud. I hope you can look at me and realize your labor bore its fruits, and that every single sacrifice was worth it.

To myself: To my 7-year-old self who had to leave her home in search of a better future and didn’t know a single word of English, I hope you are proud of how much I have improved in both writing and speaking. To my 13-year-old self who was too shy to speak a word and was never picked first by anyone, you never needed to be chosen, all you had to do was choose yourself. To my 15 year old self, who felt like the world was ending and nothing would get better, I am all the proof you need that everything will always come to pass. The world doesn’t end if we fail one exam or feel behind.

And to my future self, keep your spark alive. Continue writing on days when you forget that spark, continue playing games as a reward instead of just studying all day. And always check in with your friends — those are the things that will keep you alive and nurtured. Wherever you go from here on out, don’t look back. You will always have everything you need. You are more ready.