Senior year. I’ve been waiting three years for the moment I would get to write this. If you told me a few years ago that I’d be reflecting on my senior year at home when a global pandemic was underway, I would’ve laughed at you. Nobody is laughing now.

The motivation to write this story ceased when I became aware that I wouldn’t be going back to walk the halls of Minooka again, but not writing it would be doing myself a dishonor. 

When I came to MCHS at the beginning of my sophomore year, I was lost. I came to Minooka knowing almost nobody, but luckily I signed up for Journalism class. Although apprehensive about whether I’d succeed or not in this new environment, I quickly realized the school newspaper staff was the family I belonged in. 

Sophomore year was rough. I lost three family members in the span of three months, but I can’t thank the faculty here enough for being my support system through the worst year of my life. A few honorable mentions include the counseling department at South Campus, Ms. Christine O’Brien, and Mr. Sam Pavelka. My outlook on life was changed for the better when I wrote my first big feature on his incredible cancer survival story, which was also my first story published in the PPC. 

Junior year was one of the most memorable years of high school for me. We had nine members on our team, and although it tested our faith in ourselves, we always got stuff done and pulled through better than ever. I went to state for the second time, and I got to witness my best friends win state titles, and I was able to (quite literally) squeeze their hands along the way.

Here we go, senior year, the last year of being a kid, it’s the year you can screw up in preparation to learn lessons you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. Despite the current circumstances, senior year was the best year yet. I’ve had countless laughs, a few good cries, and everything in between. 

This was the year I finally started to realize my worth. I started to explore the creative sides of the writing realm instead of strictly sticking to journalism. I’d like to give special shout-outs to Ms. Kendyl Lincoln and Mr. Andres Torres for selflessly writing beautiful letters of recommendation for me; their kind words will stay with me forever. 

This year, I accomplished something I never thought I would: I got accepted into college at Illinois State University as an English major and Journalism minor. I proved to myself I could do anything I put my mind to, and I’m proud of myself for that.

More importantly, I’m so proud of the kiddos here at Peace Pipe Chatter for outstanding themselves every issue, and working together no matter how bumpy the road gets. I credit some of our success to the best journalism adviser this school has ever seen, and his name is Mr. Matt Thomas. 

He is truly the “dad” of this team, and I’d like to take this opportunity to properly thank him for supporting us endlessly in our school careers. I wouldn’t be the journalist I am today without his encouragement along the way.

Fellow seniors: It’s ironic that for the majority of our high school careers, we’ve been counted on to produce the stories for MCHS, while our story here remains unfinished. You guys are the most humble group of people I’ve met, and I can’t express to you how much I will miss the shenanigans we pulled off in room 197. 

Ending this article doesn’t feel natural because I haven’t processed the ending of my time on staff at PPC. Thank you MCHS, thank you for introducing me to the friends that will last a lifetime, and the experiences that have shaped me into the person I am today. 

As I said before, I’m over 700 words but no conclusion seems fitting. No amount of words I could write would do my adventure here at MCHS justice. No words can describe how wrong it feels to end it like this.

 This is the last article I will publish for the school paper, and if you’ve read my articles in the past, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. Peace out, Peace Pipe Chatter, it’s been a pleasure.