This year was my first year on the newspaper staff. I was a writer and was glad to collaborate and talk with my classmates and editor, June. The first day I walked into class, I knew I’d already loved to write–but it taught me some far more important things. I want to share with you some final wisdom before I leave Chesterton High, and why I think you should at least be open to some of it.

Something I wish I had listened to more to was the advice I was given as a freshman. At the start, upperclassmen told me to make sure that my GPA didn’t fall, to listen to my teachers, and to know that most of the friends I had in middle school wouldn’t last into high school. But something I wished I had listened to more was doing what I wanted. When I was a freshman, I was too afraid to do things. I didn’t have many friends, and most of the ones I had weren’t good influences. 

I was recently handed a letter that I had written to my future self. I remembered writing it by hand, actually, and I remember how seriously I had taken that assignment. It was my first honors class after all. I really was thinking, will I be proud of my future self? Will I make my younger self proud of how far I have come? Just now, I realized that the same girl probably would be scared of the girl she sees now. Not in a bad way, but in the way I ended up down certain paths.

I’ve changed a lot, we all do, but I share regrets that I know I will never fix. Things I wish I had never said, never had done, and never even tried. While I didn’t end up down a drug path, I did end up on a path of bad friends at one point. It really is true; hang around people who you want to be like, or also known as, water seeks its own level. While I was trying to succeed, I was seeking some pretty nasty waters. At one point, I realized my friends and I were rather enemies than friends. While we all have rough spots in life, something I learned was that what really matters is how we bounce back. 

I now try to live in the moment, stay off my phone, and really connect to my friends, who are now truly amazing and astonishing people. I also take my grades seriously, to some extent. Sometimes you really do need to have fun. For instance, I recently went to the Hatta Girl Tea Event with Mrs. Hawkins and seven other wonderful women from the high school. I had to skip my AP Literature exam in order to go, and I would have to take the test on the make-up day. But that memory is something I’m glad I have now; it was worth missing that exam. Sure, it was going to be a pain to make up the missing work, but it was worth it. So worth it. 

My plans after high school include attending Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN, to study Digital Communications and Media and minor in English Teaching. I got accepted into the Honors College there as well, and have an amazing roommate to share my time with! Life didn’t always seem this bright for me, though. At moments, I questioned my abilities, my smarts, my looks, my courage, but now that I look back, I really did blossom. There’s a saying that I’ve reminded myself of every day since freshman year. “Keep true, never be ashamed of doing right. Decide what you think is right and stick to it.” – George Elliot. This quote has given me hope in times when I wasn’t sure if I was making the right choices. 

Lastly, do something to make someone proud. It sounds stupid, but it’s worth it. When I was a freshman, my English teacher, Mrs. Thompson, had sadly passed away in a car accident. This event affected me for some time. I’d never really experienced grief, and it took a while for me to remember her in a positive light. Now, when I do things I’m scared of, I just tell myself, “Imagine how proud they would be,” and it usually helps me. 

This class has taught me two major things: don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone, and I hate writing articles that aren’t opinion articles or about someone. The latter is mainly a joke, Mrs. J! (It isn’t). But jokes aside, I’m glad I took this class. I’d wanted to, but never found time.

The main lesson is to find time for things and not to wait, as I did. I wished I’d taken radio earlier, I took it in my junior year and found out that was what I wanted to major in. I wish I had taken the newspaper class sooner; I really love writing. I wish that I had studied harder, too. But these wishes won’t change anything. So, all I ask is that you listen to some of my advice and live for yourself.

Thank you for reading my article.

Sophia Sylvester

Class of 2026