If I learned one thing from 10 years of Catholic grade school, it was to never lie… I don’t want to go into the next chapter of my life with any skeletons in the closet.

I shouldn’t be representing the Class of 2016… Honestly, I shouldn’t.

How can I represent such an exceptional class? I don’t even know half of you!

I mean, how can I represent the astounding athletic ability of Cole Reat?

I do THEATRE for crying out loud! Do I give off a “sporty”or a “Cole”  vibe? ….No!

How do I reflect the intellectual genius of Nick Stalter or Henry Dieckhaus? The answer is I don’t! I can’t reflect a 36 on the ACT nor can I demonstrate National Merit intelligence!

Am I a perfect representation of the magnetic and bubbly personality of Madison Hadler? Or the captivating smile of Will Henderson? Or the sincere, “Hi! How-are-you?” kindness of Alexis Grossnicklaus? Or the beautiful blue eyes of Lauren Rocca? Or the gorgeous singing voice of Macy White? The answer to all of those questions is no…and I can’t.

Why? I’m just average.

So, let’s start on a fresh page.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sarah Elizabeth Wingbermuehle.

I was born on August 19, 1997 in Columbia, Missouri. I spent the past four years of high school in the theatre.

You may not know me, but you probably know my laugh and/or my voice, as teachers have repeatedly told me that they can hear my laughter three hallways over. (I take pride in that).

I’m supposed to talk about what I have learned and what advice I have for you all in the future, but what makes me qualified to give out advice when I was just…average?

Well, I do have a bit of advice about my biggest regret of high school.

About four years ago today, a shy little 8th grade graduate made a promise to herself: be cool.

If there was one thing she wanted, she didn’t go through high school the same way as middle school. I didn’t want to let that 8th grader down.

Looking back, did I fulfill the promise I made to that 8th grader?

Absolutely not.

I entered high school thinking that I had to play a part, but what I realized is that I didn’t have to be a specific role like people are in the movies.

I wasn’t the pretty girl who had millions of friends or millions of things to do. I didn’t write a burn book about the other kids in the school.

I wasn’t the extremely smart girl who got awards and scholarships and student-of-the-months.

I wasn’t the troublemaker who didn’t care about her actions and spent her Saturday mornings in detention.

I wasn’t the “Class Clown,” I wasn’t the “Diva,” I wasn’t “The Athlete,” I wasn’t “The Musician” or “The Artist”.

However, I did see a change in myself.  I was goofy. I was studious. I was who I wanted to be. I loved myself and the world around me.

I was happy.

I was myself.

And the fact is, none of us lived high school like those scenarios.

We were our own people. We were individuals creating our own stories. We weren’t given a script on the first day of high school, expected to play “The Class Clown,” “The Diva,” “The Athlete,” “The Genius” or “The Artist.”  

We were ourselves.

So…I guess I do have something in common with each and every one of you…

We both went through high school creating our own stories. We are Wildcats. We are EHS.

My advice to incoming freshman: put down the script and be yourself. The faster I discovered that I was in charge of my own story, the happier I became.