A FINAL FAREWELL

An Editorial By BROGAN JOHNSON 

BROGAN JOHNSON FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY

Over the past four years of my high school career at Washingtonville High School, I have been eager to kiss this school, and the rest of my class, goodbye with ease.  Patiently waiting, I thought this day would never come, I sat in class waiting for the very moment in time that I live in now.  Unbeknownst to me, leaving this building would be my hardest goodbye.

Whether we realize it or not, Washingtonville students, we are extremely blessed to call ourselves Wizards.  Growing up in an atmosphere that radiates acceptance, love, and school spirit is something not many students can proudly say they have experienced.  I fell in love with my school, along with my peers.

When walking through the halls of WHS, one’s choice to smile isn't so much a choice, as it is an inevitable action.  Regardless of how your day is going, there will always be at least one person in school, whether it be your best friend, a teacher, or a complete stranger that can crack a smile upon your face.  I couldn't imagine spending the majority of my day anywhere else.  In here, I feel welcomed.  In here, I am accepted for who I am.

Not only do the halls radiate positive energy, but the packed stands every Friday night do even more.  Wizard Nation, all bias aside, has the best student section in the 845.  Our student section stands together, win or lose, and bleeds blue and gold. Coming together as a school, supporting one another is much more important to Wizards than catching the winning touchdown pass or scoring that three pointer.

This is what I admire most about Washingtonville: being a part of a small school where not only students, but teachers and administrators, care about students.  The faculty at Washingtonville wants the best for the students, while also encouraging them to maintain a happy and healthy teenage social life.  To be frank, how many students can confidently say that their own principal goes down a slip-n-slide every year, or that their assistant principal stands outside in the freezing rain, snow storms, hurricanes, tornados, and apocalypses just to make sure that we all drive safely in the parking lot and exit in an organized manner? While we all complain about McGorman's parking lot antics and many other "crazy teachers," we all know that these rules come from the heart.

I have experienced countless life lessons, hardships, and successes throughout my time in Washingtonville; if there is one hope, it is that I may take everything I have learned with me.  Although I may never need to know the Second Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, the hard work, grit, and motivation to learn how to derive differential equations have been lessons I hope to never lose.  Additionally, I truly hope that I can help instill confidence and positivity in myself and those around me, without thinking twice.

Like I said before, I could not wait for this moment to come. Walking across the stage and never looking back has been somewhat of a fantasy for me. However, now that the time has come, I would do anything possible to hold on to this school and the people in it.  Unfortunately, there is no rewind button on high school, or life itself; it is finally time for my peers and I to take our "last" steps as Wizards and our first into the adult world.  As I remove my cap and throw it high into the air, I hope my dreams, like my cap, go as far as they can as I take this next step into the amazing journey called life.