PANTHER’Sthe COLLEGE COMMITS

I find it kind of funny that I will soon attend college in the same city I was born. When I moved from New York City to Miami at one-years-old, the plane landed just three weeks before Hurricane Katrina. My mother recalls all of Miami’s greenery being ripped up, and how it felt initially depressing, until it began to grow back. As an infant, I slept through the whole storm and I think, in a way, this experience describes my high school experience — beauty within a storm.

I have learned to love and appreciate Miami more and more each year. From kindergarten to second grade, I went to a school that practiced a Waldorf education: one that combines education with art and ties skills together with a creative teaching style. I had indoor and outdoor shoes, each room had the scent of lavender, chalkboards illuminated a new wall-to-wall illustration each day, I learned about fairies, gnomes and Aesop’s fables, how to knit, knead bread and even compost. This early education encouraged me to feel unafraid of standing out and utilizing my skills.

My brother, sister and I call it a “hippie school” that, looking back, had some odd quirks, but overall, taught me true creativity. It set a strong foundation for me to go into elementary and then middle school and feel grounded. Now, I did have to repeat second grade because this school did not exactly prioritize the principles of reading and math, but I got my driver’s license before all my friends, so it was not too bad.

Transitioning to middle school, I always felt way behind the other kids. I remember the very first day as I stood outside the Palmetto Middle School gates when suddenly the bell rang and an older student yelled, “F**k, here we go.” Just half-an-hour earlier, I had dropped off my twin brother at his new middle school and we parted ways for the first time at school. I felt so jarred standing there, and though my thoughts echoed the profane language of the swearing student, I walked in nonetheless and began my “Palmetto” journey.

At school, there were certain things others grasped, such as how to make our uniform “cool” or know certain songs that I did not — and still do not — know. I made some friends along the way, and as we aimlessly walked around The Falls on Friday nights, I began to feel more grown-up.

I entered Miami Palmetto Senior High reuniting with my brother. Though I had him and my friends, the experience threw me into a new, jarring environment. High school felt similar to middle school: I had never grasped all the “cool” things or events. When COVID-19 hit, it all paused. Similar to Hurricane Katrina, COVID-19 had catastrophic damage worldwide, but like my mom said about the greenery back in 2005, it regrows.

Starting high school, I felt like while I was lost, everyone else was too. Finally! Teachers could not figure out Zoom, shops closed and no one knew what the future held. Though serious implications simultaneously occurred, like a healthcare crisis, illness and death, job losses and devastating impact on industries, as a freshman, I did not digest the long-term effects. All I knew was that as long as I wore my mask, I could bike ride with my friends and sit outside doing homework. I saw regrowth both within my family and myself and felt excited to fully return to MPSH my junior year. I stayed close to my friends, and we went, and still go, everywhere together. As a Miami native’s rite of passage, I watched as The Falls turned into bike rides, parties, exploring Miami Beach and meeting teenagers from different schools.

During junior year, I joined clubs, volunteered, continued writing on The Panther and took AP classes — which I greatly attribute to my friend group. I strongly believe in the notion that you are the combination of the five people you hang out with most. We all had our own passions and hobbies but made efforts to sign up for similar activities. Things like volunteering at an 8 a.m. event became another opportunity to see each other. I became more involved, but more importantly, a kinder and more compassionate person as we helped each other through the inevitable rough patches of high school. From 15 hour beach days, road-tripping to Orlando, sleepovers, 24/7 texts and eating every lunch together for five years, I feel eternally lucky to have experienced high school with such amazing friends. Sydney, Jordan, Lexi and Gili, thank you for putting up with me and expect many visits next year.

I learned so much from my classes and experiences, yet almost none can amount to what I have learned from being on The Panther. At the end of middle school, while all local high schools pawn over you to convince you to attend their school, I remember PTA moms answerings students’ questions about MPSH. They kept missing my hand for many rounds of questions, until I stretched it super high, got picked, and asked: “Does Palmetto have a newspaper?”

I had my heart set from day one. Since being accepted to staff, I have learned to manage myself, work with others and engage with the greater community. From a sophomore with an iPhone, taking shaky videos of the football team, to becoming Co-Editor-in-Chief my senior year, newspaper has molded who I am today in a way no other class has accomplished. I am eternally grateful for finding this community and knowing that when I think back to high school, The Panther will be the first thing that comes to mind. And to Amy-Grace, my amazing Co-Editor-in-Chief, I could not have done it without you and could not be prouder to leave The Panther in your hands.

Like many high school seniors, I am saying goodbye to the life I have had until now. Maybe it is a “see you later,” but I do not know where I will end up. But, I do know a few things. I know that I am bad at math and intend to stick to writing. I also know that building two has the best bathrooms at MPSH and that newspaper is the best elective to take. But more importantly, I know high school held its fair share of storms that feel all-consuming. Though, in the end, the storm will pass, change will occur, the sun will shine again and the greenery will regrow.