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

At the beginning of my high school career, I was a lost soul searching for my place in a world too-far-gone.

Freshman year was an inside joke that I was on the viewing side for.

I felt lost, as if I had no purpose. Drowning in my own existence and wanting to fully understand myself, I figured out my passions and what makes me happy, and writing was one of those things.

I cannot say I enjoyed high school, nor can I say I hated it.

Sophomore year, I really found myself and who I wanted to be.

I went into the counselor’s office one day after deciding I wanted to get more involved with my school. He gave me a list of clubs and after-school activities, but none of them intrigued me. I told my counselor that I wanted to write film reviews, and he said I should join the Hub, but that reviews would be a long shot. Nonetheless, here I am today, publishing a review every single week.

Before high school, life was a mere imagination. I never truly understood its beauty and madness all wrapped into one until my four years of high school. I want to give a shout-out to those who impacted me the most on the Hub. Ethan Fine, I remember when we first got to know each other. I would say “This guy is going to be somebody someday,” and I still believe that to this day. You’re one of the best people I know and I can’t wait to see who you become in the future.

Now, to my future wife and another one of the best and most genuine humans I’ve ever met, Lauren Glascock. My first semester on staff, I remember being assigned to my first story with Lauren and creating a bond that will never be broken.

Strecker, you’ve had a lasting impact on my life and you’re one of the strongest beings on this planet. Nothing ever stands in your way and you’ve always been there for me through my hardest times, even when I never asked you to be.

The Hub gave me a safe place, a place where I could fully express myself without any ridicule or judgement. It was my home within Eureka High School.

In life, choices are made every day. Some good with a rewarding outcome and some terrible that leave you with regret. But every choice you make leaves you with one thing no matter what. Memories. Choices and memories are what shapes a person’s youth. It’s what creates who you are as a young adult and who you will grow up to be.

Although journalism may not be in my near future, it has shown me how talented I am and that I have a voice. I no longer am that scared little shell of a teenager trying to impress everyone he came across. And without the Hub, I wouldn’t be the version of myself that I am today and am completely proud of.

When you’re sitting there with a family at age 50, and looking back on your life thinking, “What the hell did I do?,” you want to look back and see all of the glorious moments that life has to offer. Life is such a gift that should be cherished and lived to the fullest. It is the ultimate prize, and living it is what makes it so majestic.

Now if I died tomorrow, but had a minute to look back and remember, would I be completely satisfied? Well, no. But in all honesty, I have made so many memories thus far in life that I would be able to smile and close my eyes.

Life was never meant to be played safe, it was meant to be pushed to the outer limits and conquered to satisfaction.

I will end this speech with one last quote from a masterpiece written by people who didn’t waste away their lives thinking about what could go wrong or how they would be judged. They just simply lived.

“There is a road, no simple highway/Between the dawn and the dark of night/And if you go, no one may follow/That path is for you steps alone” – Grateful Dead “Ripple”