This was the best year of my life, so far. Very important last bit, “so far.” Because at my heart, I am an optimist and always believe that tomorrow has potential to be better than today. And yes, I know next year will be hard; the early buzz on college is that it’s harder high school without your friends, but whatevs. I’ll do in college what I did in high school; start at the bottom and work my way up to the top. Because I’m charming, talented and more than a little awesome. But this isn’t about me. This about you. Well, not you as in everyone, but you as in…if you’re one of the people I’m going to mention today, than I guess it would be “you,” otherwise it’s about “them.” Never mind. Anyway, for my final Nick’s Niche, I wanted to do something different. Rather than pontificate about myself (another thing about me; big words. Like ‘em, know how to use ‘em.) I wanted to instead write about those that made this year, nay high school, such a wonderful adventure. Guys, I’m a fat, awkward geek; high school is supposed to be an exercise in torture. Instead, it was the time of my life. Well, so far. Again, optimism. So, now that I’ve come to the end, I’d like to thank…
Shack- You were the first teacher at Legacy I ever met. Meeting you and seeing how excited you were to be at Legacy helped me get jazzed too. And I still think I’m a little jazzed, even now. So thanks.
Mallett- For talking me into joining The Rider. Believe it or not, there was a time where I was actually going to do Media Tech instead of journalism. Let’s just say my experiences at Summit did not instill a passion for newspaper. But you did. I think of you not only as a great teacher, but as the coolest boss I’ll ever have. Your raw passion and enthusiasm for The Rider and high school journalism in general has been inspiring to me. I’m sorry for all the times I’ve disappointed you, but I’m more grateful for all the things you’ve taught me.
Greg- My most difficult friend. And I think that’s because you were, well, are, why am I saying were? Anyway, you are my most honest friend. In high school, honesty is a rare commodity and while at times it hurt, your honesty was always appreciated. But so was your humor, your good will, and the friendship that you gave me. Thanks pal.
Mac & Ferman- You guys gave me a place to stay after school. In theatre, I worked harder, tried harder, laughed harder and cried harder then any other time in my life. Going into Legacy, I knew that theatre arts were a subject of strong interest. But because of my experiences with you guys, it is now a passion and dream that I will chase for the rest of my life. It was the greatest adventure, and you should be as proud of yourselves as I am of both of you.
My Friends- I can’t name all of you, so I’m not even going to bother. But I love you guys. All of you, you’re great. So many stories, so much laughter. Looking back through my time at high school, I realize that my biggest roadblock to happiness has always been myself. It’s always been me beating myself down, telling me things to keep myself from truly enjoying myself. But you guys were always awesome, always cheering me up, intentionally or unintentionally. My friends are smart, loyal, weird and endlessly fascinating. You were all brilliant and, thanks to you, so was I.
