Dearest Colleagues:

Well, this is it, fam.

It has been one heck of a year with all of you.

Journalism was such a wonderful experience for me; I was able to meet new people, many of which I would have never known otherwise, rekindle friendships, and learn valuable rhetoric skills as well as improve upon my writing, as I am sure that even Kelleigh has done this year.

This letter would feel very impersonal if I did not write to each one of you individually, so that is exactly what I am going to do, starting with Eric and working my to Coop-meister and, of course, Britt.

Eric: I honestly don’t know what to say to you; you are quite the character. You have made Journalism interesting in the most bizarre of ways. Don’t give up – not on this class, not on school in general, and not on life. You can get so far, just keep fighting. I can’t say that I know you very well, and I don’t know what hand life has dealt to you, but keep fighting. You’ll regret the chances that you don’t take. You’re about to go into high school. If you want to go to college, work for it. Maintain at least mostly Bs. Stay you, dude.

Bubbles: My man Bubbles! You are like a mad scientist: crazy (pun intended) smart and a little bit off at the same time. Especially considering your age, you are an AMAZING writer. If, someday four years from now, you wonder what you should do with your life, write. You know how to take bland topics and make them entirely unique and interesting. You’re witty, but not in the way that a 12- to 13-year-old boy usually is. Many of your jokes have an intellectual undertone and require some preconceived knowledge to understand. Bubbles, you are going to go far. Please come back to Journalism again before you leave Horizon Honors. Your presence will be greatly appreciated. If you decide to come back, I hope to God you apply for Editor of Features and Extras, my Savage Cabbage. Come back.

Mya: Hey, Babe! *nods a “hello”* I am going to miss your hugs. I am going to miss having someone to “glaaaaa” with ( I don’t really know how to spell that, but I think you know what I’m saying). Keep writing, Boo. Relax a little bit. The world is going to continue to hand you the most annoying of people and expect you not to crush them. The world is also going to hand you a lot of adversity and expect you to continue on living. Keep living, but do NOT let anyone take advantage of you. You are no one’s slave. You are nobody’s doormat. Do not let yourself be mistreated. This is YOUR life to live, and if someone messes it up, you have a right to fix that. Keep on living, and keep on smiling!

Hannah: Hannah! Dude! Keep going with your work. Do the sports, do the journalism, do the school, do the job. But also get some sleep. You are so wonderful and I love seeing you smile! Slow down a little bit and take in the view. The world will still be there in the morning. Get some rest, and wake up and take a little break. Worry about yourself. When you get to college, you are not going to be able to enjoy the experience if you take 18 credit hours or some crazy number like that – 15 will suffice. High school is an experience. I hated high school more than you will ever know, but it made me who I am today, on the last day of my senior year, which is so much better than the person I was on the first day of my freshman year. Let yourself live a little bit.

Haylee: HaylNah! I love it! You are one of the most adorable people ever. You are intelligent, yet you cater to that childish imagination within you so, so well. I feel like I know you pretty well in some ways, but in others you are utterly unpredictable. Stay that way. Keep the world guessing. Your head is what makes you you. You are able to make it through with your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground. You remind me a lot of my best friend, but in other ways you are completely different. You are a one-of-a-kind human being and I will never forget everything that you or your imagination. Please. Never change. Do not let the ugliness of any person or the anger of the world take away what makes you who you are.

Kylee: Wow. You have been in Journalism for a short time, but man, you’re great. I genuinely hope to see you as a sports journalist someday, or as a newscaster for ESPN or Fox Sports (FS is better, but ESPN is a big name. It’s like Adidas vs. Nike: Adidas is better [in my opinion], but Nike is the biggest name in activewear, so potato potato [that phrase doesn’t work if you don’t say it out loud]). Or maybe you’ll be the greatest woman in lacrosse ever. Maybe you’ll play men’s lacrosse because the ladies can’t handle you! Or not, I don’t know, you do you. Honestly though, you are so amazing and you started of in this class really well. Stay golden (pun moderately intended)!

Silly: Len, Zero. Getting to know you this past year has been an interesting experience. You have the opportunity at a bright future. Do not let the world break you. I know that what I am saying to you will mean close to nothing, but based on my experience, the best advice that I can give you is to work for yourself. You are the only person who is capable of fixing you. No person, no thing, no idea will ever make you happy. It is up to you to change who you are because this world will continue to break you. So you can either font the world or let it destroy you. If you ever need anything, you know how to find me. Your utterly terrifying sense of humor reminds me of myself when I was your age.

Taylor: T! You are one of the most interesting people. The Russian bear dance. Subscribing to Buzzfeed’s daily dog email list. Y’all are unforgettable. Enjoy life. Just remember that you are your greatest weakness, so don’t let yourself get too much in your head. You can make it so far in life. You are not a narcissist, by the way – just a bit pretentious. Do not let people walk all over you. Fight for yourself because, someday, nobody will be there to fight for you. Be strong.

Justin: In a class full of liberal ideals, I really liked hearing your opposing beliefs. When you first got to this class, you had missed a lot of the lessons that the other students had been given, so you were a bit behind, but your writing has definitely improved. It is very evident that your knowledge of conventions has improved since you first came to Horizon Honors.

Ethan: I honestly don’t know what to say to you. You are such a great writer, you really are, and I feel like you keep going under the radar. You can be an editor someday, you can be a columnist for as long as you want. You have such a subtle, but much-appreciated sense of humor. Please don’t ever lose that and best of luck to you in Spanish.

Kelleigh: I am so glad that you got into the honor’s program at Georgia Tech ! If somebody had told me a year ago that I would be on a first name basis with Kelleigh Hogan, I would’ve said, “I don’t know who that is, but okay?” But you’re Kelleigh, now. I am glad that I got to know you this year, even though I was kind of afraid of you for the first couple of weeks. Best of luck at Georgia Tech. My only concern with that is that you might be stuck with someone you don’t like very much or someone who is not up to Kelleigh standards. But I mean these things in the best of ways. You really are amazing and I hope that you stay Kelleigh Hogan throughout college. See you on the flip side.

Addison: The beauty! I have called you beautiful so many times, which is such a surface level compliment. Nonetheless, it is so true. But one of my absolute favorite things about you is that you don’t say very much to the class, but when you do, it’s heaven. You are very intelligent, and I love how you question things. I could see you as the first female president, or maybe the second, only after Ms. Hensel. When you have her for Gov or AP Gov, you’ll understand why I say that. But seriously, I could see you as a congresswoman or president or VP. (BTW when I typed “congresswoman” it said it was misspelled and that I meant “congressman” and I feel like that’s something that you would like to know.)

Jake: You’re kind of like Addy in the sense that you don’t say much, but when you do, it’s GOLD. I don’t know, I ship Jaddy. Jaddy Bennise. It’s perfect. Okay, now to make things a little less awkward, I really appreciate your presence. You really are such a friendly person and I have noticed in you that when someone asks you to do something you do it for them quickly and thoroughly. You are a giver. Good luck! Like Kylee, I could see you as a sports announcer on ESPN or something. Or maybe you’ll host “Shaq’tin’ a Fool” or something dope like that. Or make your own and call it “All Jaked Up.”

Cooper: Hi, Cooper! Coop-meister ! Well. I don’t really know where to go with this. You are a dope mo-fo. I really hope that you never change. But you’re such a different person all of the time. In twenty years you could be a park ranger, the executive of a million dollar company, a real estate agent, a car salesman, or a guy flipping signs outside of Mattress Firm. One thing that never changes is your kindness. I don’t think you have any idea, and I don’t think you ever will, how much your heart is appreciated. Last year in Psychology there were times that I was having a rough day and the only thing to look forward to was talking to you. You truly are light.

Britt: Well. I guess this is it. I know I’m really annoying sometimes, but my heart is always in the right place. Thank you for all of the lessons that you have taught me. Not necessarily the classroom lessons, but underlying messages in them. I really hope that you and Hensel get married and, if you do, I hope I get an invite to the wedding. There are things that I have learned from you in this class and otherwise that I will carry with me for a very long time.

So many of the memories that I have from this class will be carried with me for a very long time.

Thank you, Journalism, columnists, and editors, for being an amazing experience during my senior year. This has been one of my favourite classes in my 13 years of public education and that is wholly because of everyone in this room. Thank you for the memories.

Love always,

Vanyssa Haug