Wow. And ten years later I have to say goodbye. I can’t believe I have to leave the school that taught me to problem solve, taught me perseverance, discipline, integrity, respect, honesty, trustworthiness, responsibility, dedication, loyalty, initiative, compassion, involvement, commitment to family and community, and strong work ethic. Without Horizon I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

It’s amazing that I get to graduate with people I have known since I was barely seven years old. Saying goodbye isn’t easy, but without ever having to do it, I would never get to know what I had. It’s true that there were days and times I didn’t enjoy here, but as a whole, my experience was amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Every person here is so unique and each of them have helped me discover my own unique personality and outlook.

I think it will take a very long time before I can actually believe that I don’t get to come back to this place to continue learning, interacting, and growing. Even if I’m gone from here, Horizon will never be gone from me. The lessons that have be instilled over the years will never leave me and will be things I think of every day.

My advice to seniors? Take your time. Don’t rush to grow up. It’s okay if you don’t have everything figured out right now, things always sort themselves eventually. It’s okay if things don’t work out perfectly as you imagined, things will happen the way they are supposed to, and you will be fine. This will be the fastest year of your life (so far), so make sure you take the time to actually enjoy it. It’s easy to fall into the competition of who can care the least, but realize that caring isn’t all that bad, and looking back, you will prefer the memories of the times when you took the time to care, rather than when you blew things off. Make the most of everything, you’ll have a lot of lasts your senior year, make them all count.

Well it’s time for me to fly (haha), but I’ll always be an eagle deep down, even as a lumberjack next year. Thank you, Horizon. Thank you, students. Thank you, friends. Thank you, teachers. I’ll be forever grateful.

Eagles 5evr.