Hey everyone! So it is still a shock to me to say that my days here as a Union Catholic student are numbered, with only seven school days left until my final exam projects and senior assessments begin. I will be presenting a Spanish project, writing my own foreign policy, and going to Six Flags this Friday with the physics kids for our final! I really cannot wait to study physics on actual roller coasters. The senior leaders have our Senior Leadership Day next Monday, and the senior class has our academic awards this Thursday. Prom is also about a week away, which means that graduation is not far behind!
I think more and more about it every day and even though I’m excited for my next step in life, I am also afraid. Because of this fear, I have done a great deal of reflecting back on my four years at Union Catholic and to say that I loved and adored all aspects of Union Catholic would be a gross understatement. I will admit, coming into my freshmen year I had some expectations and small hopes for what was to come of my high school career, but I never would have guessed that it would have turned into what I experienced and look back on today.
During my reflecting, I really thought about what Union Catholic as a whole does for the person and what it has done for me. Union Catholic truly became my home away from home. I, in all honestly, would not be the person I am today without Union Catholic. If it wasn’t for UC, I would not have such a strong faith as I do now, and I wouldn’t be a Eucharistic Minister for almost three years at my parish of St. Helen’s in Westfield. Also, I wouldn’t be continuing my schooling at a religious affiliated school for college. If it wasn’t for Union Catholic’s great core classes and wide range of electives, I wouldn’t feel nearly as intellectually well-rounded and I wouldn’t be dreaming of going on to medical school. If it wasn’t for Union Catholic forensics, I wouldn’t have a level of self-confidence that I never thought existed. Union Catholic has truly taught me how to live my life in a healthy and beneficial way. I feel so lucky and honored to have been given the opportunity to take part in the activities that I have, such as being a Student Ambassador and reaching out to others, taking part in clubs such as REACH and helping a sick child almost every month, being a student blogger for four years and give you readers a piece of my experiences, and taking part in sports and rising to be a leader. Union Catholic has taught me how to be a leader, a team player, and to never quit. For example, this year I was really struggling with one of my courses but my teachers and fellow students never gave up on me or let me give up on myself and I, in turn, never gave up on myself. I have developed such deep relationships with students, trusted relationships with teachers and even some of the administration on some level. Union Catholic taught me how to open up to new things and accept change, because change can be a great thing. Union Catholic strengthened everything about me: my drive to learn, my push to succeed, and my need to grow. I never stopped working because no teacher ever stopped pushing. My hard work felt so good when I was inducted into the National Honors Society and the World Language Honors Society my junior year. I felt that I made my school proud.
Union Catholic is a family in so many ways. We look after each other; we grow together; we learn together. Most importantly, we encourage each other. It is truly a great feeling when your vice principal congratulates you individually for a win at a recent forensics meet. Looking back on it all now, I know I will forever remember Mrs. Leegan doing a cartwheel in front of her World Studies class of freshmen, starting and counting in most golf matches as a freshman, being in the senior courtyard for the first time. I know I will never be able to thank Union Catholic enough for what it has done for me. Leaving this school will be a very sad day, knowing I am leaving so much of who I am behind; but I know I am prepared for the future. I can walk onto the Loyola University Maryland campus with a head held high, knowing I will always have a family at Union Catholic to come home to. I am a Viking, and I will bleed blue forever.
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