Grace Mosley, Broomfield High School

Editor's Note: In the spirit of providing opportunities to give our young people a voice and a platform, Our Broomfield™ is pleased to continue a tradition. Each year, we look forward to inviting one senior from each of our three primary local high schools to share a reflection on growing up in Broomfield and their high school career on behalf of their class. We thank this year’s seniors for their thought provoking columns, and the entire staff of Our Broomfield sends all 2023 graduates sincere congratulations and best wishes for the future.

Like many of my peers, I started my freshman year as a very different person than how I am leaving high school. This becomes very apparent when my mom goes around the table at family events and shows my relatives pictures of freshman me. Oftentimes I find myself judging the person that I used to be, thinking how bad her outfits were, or wondering how she could walk out the door with her hair looking like that. But the truth is, that none of us would be who we are today without the person in those pictures from 2019.

Since our first day of high school, we have all done things that our younger selves couldn’t fathom, like making it to state in a sport, becoming a lead in the school musical, or even just making it through the challenging and unpredictable four years of high school. Without these experiences, we wouldn’t have been able to grow into who we are today.

The first high school event I ever attended was the rival Broomfield Legacy football game, which we won. I remember being so excited to go to that game that I stood in my room for 30 minutes beforehand and practiced the cheers that the Blue Crew leaders taught us before the game. I was determined to be like the seniors. When I got to the game wearing my white jeans, broomfield jersey and blue face paint, surrounded by a sea of people dressed just like me, I knew this was going to be the place for me. I stood at the back of the bleachers with my friends and chanted with the rest of the school.

Four years later, walking down the hallway, I still recognize the people that stood on those bleachers with me. We have all watched each other grow into our identities and our passions. After this year, we will be going off to be a part of even bigger and better things. Some of us will be collegiate athletes, attending med school, continuing in performing arts, or beginning a career out in the world.

As the class of 2023, when we step out into the next adventures that will continue to form who we are, let us try and be like the freshman that we once were. Open minded, determined, and most importantly truly present and interested in what the world holds for us. Let us continue to seek opportunities for unity, chances to be influenced by new constructs, and be active in our growth to positively influence the world around us.

After graduation Grace will be attending Colorado State University to study biochemistry.