If I could describe my high school experience in one word, it would be growth.

Since freshman year, EHS has seen me grow and change into the person I am today. I walked in on my very first day with little to no confidence and not just because I was already taller than most of the guys in my grade.

I lacked confidence socially and emotionally. I tried to pretend I was somebody that I was not just to impress people. My tragic goal for the first two years of high school was to get people to like me, which ended up leaving me unhappy.

I chose to attempt to fit in with a group of people who did not share the same morals as me. I just wanted to be around people I thought were “cool.” While sitting in a basement listening to these people gossip about girls at our school, I realized this was not cool. These were people I did not want to affiliate with.

By the end of my sophomore year, I completely turned my life around.

The only way I knew how to get through my internal struggles was to write.

One day I decided to sign up for Journalism Writing and Reporting because I thought a class where I could write all the time sounded therapeutic.

Little did I know that this decision was the first stepping stone to my future.

Thanks to my wonderful adviser Elisha Strecker, I was introduced to the beloved world of all things journalism. I fell in love with the concept of sharing compelling stories and having my own voice.

I continued on after JWR to eventually become a news reporter on the Hub. My time spent writing for the Hub has been filled with the privilege of reporting enticing stories and making new, unlikely friendships.

Ethan Fine, editor-in-chief, and Josh Margherita, opinions, are the most enlightening people I know, and they have made every moment in the class enjoyable. Between every rap battle and rant session with these two, the memories will always bring a smile to my face.

Josh, I am sorry we never pulled off singing our mission statement to the tune of the day together as a staff: “Sharing with the community compelling timely stories that seek the truth and report it powerfully employing design and technology.”

My time on the Hub has helped me decide to attend the University of Missouri in the fall to major in journalism. The best is yet to come for my future in the journalism world.

Not only did I find my passion, but I decided to surround myself with people who made me feel good about myself. These people constantly encourage me in everything I do. Instead of gossip, we go on joy rides and adventures around the city.

I found a group of people that will be some of my best friends for the rest of my life; two of which will be my roommates when I continue my journey next year at Mizzou.

After sophomore year, these people are what I think of when I recall all the memories made in high school. Looking back on the four year journey is quite bittersweet.

Next year it will all be different.

There will be no more screaming my head off in the front row of the Catpound decked out in Party City accessories during the football games on Friday nights.

There will be no more waking up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning just to spend hours getting ready for Homecoming, Prom or winter formal to attempt to look a little better than the me who wears old t-shirts every day.

There will be no more nights to put the number 23 on my back, lace up my shoes and play basketball with a team I considered family.

The Bread Co. runs with my best friend, the Spirit Week shopping and even the nights I stayed up way too late studying will all be gone.

I did not believe those who told me that high school goes by in a flash. Heck, I felt like I would be stuck in those halls forever.

But now I am sitting here writing my last piece ever for the Hub with less than a week of school left. It all went by in a flash. In two weeks, I will be walking across the stage at graduation receiving my diploma.

I am not going to sit here and say I had the best four years of my life at EHS because I did not.

What I can say is that I made some of the best friends of my life, found my passion and have made memories that will last forever.

I will never forget what it feels like to be a Wildcat or how blessed I was to grow up in such a strong community. #eurekastrong

However, I must leave what I call home and start my next journey… but this time as a Tiger.