High school, four years of making memories with those around you. Some good, some bad, and if you’re lucky, maybe you can learn a thing or two. Throughout my time at Wilton Jr/Sr High School, I’ve seen many different things. This article is different than what I would typically write. With me being a midterm graduate, this is my last ever journalism article. With that being said, I figured that I would switch it up a bit. Here is what I, Jordan Vick, have experienced in my three and a half years of high school.

Many of us seniors are anxious about our last year of high school nearing an end. There is still much to figure out with college, finances, scholarships, etc. Aside from the class of 2021 being a slight emotional wreck, we have made plenty of memories to take with us when we leave high school.

On our first day of high school, we were given a warm welcome by the grades above us when we walked through the freshman tunnel. We were confused, excited, and a little scared about our high school careers. We weren’t the only people new to the high school. Our principal, Mr. Snavely, also started our freshman year. When we had our first homecoming, we saw what high school was all about. There was so much energy and excitement in the building. Not only did that show in our pep rallies, but also in the student section. After each game, the student body would get together in the parking lot for a parking lot party. I remember students blaring music and dancing on top of cars. I think that was the peak of parking lot parties. I remember that year we took a pep bus to Bellevue to watch our football team compete. It was freezing outside, and yet we stood and cheered. At the homecoming dance that year, Daryn Clark ‘20 and I were messing around, and I ripped my dress pants. Little did I know, I would continue to tear my pants at almost every dance I attended in high school, including prom. As winter ended and spring was approaching, Mr. Snavely wanted to do something nice for us students and let us have a Spring Day. There was various fun outside events planned for us to do. Unfortunately, that was our first and last Spring Day. The water balloon toss got out of hand and turned into an all-out water war. The chaos peaked with Mr. Snavely being pelted by a speeding water balloon. That year I learned that I was in for a wild ride.

Sophomore year is when memories started to stick. I started the year as part of the football team. I was terrible at the sport, but I still made some memories that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Something about being laid out by Corey Anderson ‘19 twice in the same play has a certain charm to it. I had a lot of fun conditioning in the rainy, muddy weather, laughing and running around like a bunch of crazed lunatics. Every Thursday, we would have a team meal. I will never forget the stains that remained on the parking lot when the seniors decided to throw up biscuits and gravy all over the place. When homecoming happened that year, we all experienced something only heard in legends. The student section cheered as Mr. Lee jumped out of his chair to shake his booty. At the end of the football season, I will never forget the class of 2019 doing their last conditionings during practice. They all stripped down into only their girdles and had the time of their lives as they did cartwheels and flips and gave each other piggy-back rides instead of running for their last 40-yard dash. Later in the year, our choir director decided to have a small show choir performance in our variety show. We danced to “Footloose” and had the time of our lives. Kaelyb Gerlt ’19 and Brian Stillman ’19 would pick me up and throw me in the air during rehearsal, and eventually the performance. We had a great time. Between being a tackling dummy and being thrown in the air at show choir, I learned about aerodynamics and how to not faceplant.

Our junior year may have been cut short, but it was probably my favorite year out of high school. I left the school way more than I needed to during Econ and Journalism. Our group for Econ was the most successful in the class with our beaver stickers. I can’t remember how much money our group made, but it was around four hundred dollars. We left many different times to get supplies, even if we didn’t know what we needed. It was just fun to get out of class and walk around art supply stores. In Journalism, my friends and I would go out and sell as many ads as we could. Once again, it was just fun to get out and go to different businesses and talk to people. It was fun to have miniature competitions with my friends to see who had the best sales pitch. That year our school put on one of the best performances we have ever had, Little Shop of Horrors. I had the time of my life being involved in that play and made so many memories. I’ve always enjoyed tormenting our director, Nicole Miller. In my junior year, I stole many lemons from the water that she keeps on her desk. That was also the first year that I participated in two different individual speech events. Both Improv and Radio Broadcasting performances qualified for state. Unfortunately, state speech was canceled, due to COVID-19. Our school year ended before we could even go on spring break. Hearts broke for the class of 2020 because they couldn’t carry on the rest of their senior year. That school year came to a screeching halt. That year I learned about the decomposition of lemons.

After a long summer break, our senior year started. A year full of rules and regulations. Everybody was drained at the end of every day. Not many people were used to wearing a mask for an extended period. As the year went on, we grew used to wearing our masks in school and have adapted. My friends and I placed bets on how long it would take for our school to shut down. We still haven’t shut down and probably won’t. In terms of activities and things going on this year, there isn’t much of anything. We are less than a week away from the end of the semester, and not a single student has been able to do their class chant this year. Sports and academics have also had many different rules and stipulations. Some events have just been outright canceled. Looking back, I have enjoyed my time in school overall. Although, given the circumstances of this year, I am happy to get out of school and be done with it all. This year I learned to be resilient and keep trying.

I am so thankful for all of the activities that I have been able to do in high school. I am glad that I was able to share a bit about my high school experiences. I made sure to include some pictures in a gallery to make this a little more entertaining and heartfelt. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of these pictures as I do.

Best of luck to all of the underclassmen in the building. I hope that your schooling can go back to normal soon. Remember to have as much fun in school as you can. Don’t be afraid to try new things and get out of your comfort zone. Grades may be important, but memories last a lifetime.