My years at John Carroll have been the best of my life, but each year began completely differently. From behind the screen to parking in the student lot, each first day of school has brought new challenges.

On the first day of my freshman year and 10 minutes before my class started, I rolled out of bed, pulled on my uniform shirt, got ready, and logged onto Microsoft Teams. Almost my entire year was like that. Each day, I was in sweatpants and a polo combo, listening to lectures from either my desk or my bed.

It was a strange, hard, and utterly confusing year. The monotonous meetings made it nearly impossible to stay awake.

When I was finally in the building, though, there were very few people in my classes because of the alphabetical lineup. The masks, social distancing, and trying to have students connect at home through Teams made it tough to enjoy my first year at JC.

To make it even harder, fall sports were canceled mid-way through the season.

The start of my sophomore year provided more hope, however. While we still had to wear masks, everyone was in the building together. COVID continued to provide challenges. For instance, as a student-athlete, taking tests at school was required.

Something else unique about sophomore year was the 20-minute-long outdoor Advisory each day for a mask break. Still, the first two years didn’t feel like high school.

Junior year. The excitement of Ring was in the air.  My class members were getting inducted into honor societies and receiving our licenses. Everything was back to normal, and it felt like the best school year.

Now, for me, it’s already been a few weeks into my senior year, and I am already filled with so many emotions.

First, I am immensely stressed. With the demanding deadlines from my JC classes, along with filling out college applications and figuring out which college to attend. I am feeling every ounce of the stress school is (supposed) to bring.

Yet, I am also incredibly excited about what this year will bring.

I am ready to move on and go to college, but I’m not ready for this year to end. I have already made so many memories and I cannot wait to make more at events like prom and graduation.

I am ready to finish my best year of high school. Here’s to the Class of ‘24.