My biggest take away from these four years of ups and downs is that life is not that deep. Don’t be afraid to feel every emotion, which is so much better than being numb, but remember they are just emotions, not reality. Please, please, please, do not take AP Physics C unless you want to feel the most inept you have ever felt. But if you do, tell Mrs. Anheier I say hi! Try your best to stay away from Mio energy, and if you don’t know what I am talking about please keep it that way. Once you start you can never stop, like seriously. Once you hit senior year, everything really becomes clear and it is liberating. Everything in these four years is worth it, genuinely. So enjoy every moment, Mio-free hopefully, and start up conversations with people you have never spoken to more often. They might just end up being some of your closest friends.

–Macy Dennon, Editor-in-Chief

Although it is cliché, grasp every opportunity presented to you throughout these four years of high school. Talk to new people, take those classes, join the sport. It seems obvious but four years really isn’t that long, so try not to obsess too much on grades, because in a few years you won’t remember that quiz you failed or the extra credit you didn’t take, but you will remember the friendships you made and the experiences you had. Simply put, do the things you love, connect with your peers, and try to have fun!

–Nessa Purdy, Opinion Editor

After four years of high school, I can confidently assure you that you will be more than fine. You will hold onto some of these memories forever, others will be discarded by next week. You will have moments when you wish for nothing more than to graduate, and others when you will wish to spend just a few more moments here with your friends. Regardless, you must remember to move on. You aren’t encompassed by your experiences within the four walls of your classrooms. You aren’t defined by the decisions you make at 16 years old. You aren’t the sum of all your As. You are the person in the halls laughing with your friends. You are the person who makes mistakes and continues to push through. You are the person with goals that far exceed your experiences as a high schooler, and you’re the person who controls how you choose to spend your teenage years, so make them good! 

–Bridie Beamish, National/World Editor

With the looming start of my freshman year of college, I’ve taken time to appreciate and cherish my past four years at LGHS. My piece of advice: take advantage of everything the school has to offer. My freshman year I never thought I could make the Varsity Dance Team, and four years later that team has turned into my family. Same goes for the water polo and swim communities at LGHS — I’ve never experienced such a kind, welcoming, and supportive environment. And not to glaze the newspaper I’m actively writing for, but I tear up daily at the thought of life without the snack cabinet and Closing Time by Semisonic. So don’t be afraid, join as much as you can, and genuinely enjoy your time at LGHS. 

–Saya Alvares, People Editor

Do things you love. It’s normal to feel unstable. Aim for excellence, but prioritize happiness. Push yourself, and recognize your breaking point. Don’t settle for bad friends. Don’t do activities just for a college application. Alone time doesn’t mean you’re alone. Confidence will get you SO far. Don’t run when things are hard, face them head on. Cheesy, but be you and you will find your people. A few Bs aren’t the end of the world! Relish the highs and allow yourself to feel the downs. You’ve got this!! 

–Dana Hathaway, Public Relations Manager

Although it might feel like it at the time, it’s not the end of the world when you get a 52 on a chemistry test, get rejected from your dream schools, and fall short of an A in calculus because of two points on your final. It’s all going to be okay, and I can tell you that from personal experience. These setbacks may seem like the end-all right now, but each challenge either helps you grow, or shows you that you’re strong enough to keep moving forward. The significance of every grade, conversation, and experience feels amplified, but remember to take a step back and keep things in perspective. Go on a hike and look out at the bay, drive 17 to the beach and dip your feet into the ice cold water, scream your lungs out at a good concert, and trust that everything will work out in the end.

–Nadia Liu, Editor-in-Chief

Whether you’re a senior, junior, sophomore, freshman, or mayhaps a middle schooler just waiting for your glory days at LGHS, know that these past and upcoming years may be made up of the worst moments of your life; it just comes with the territory. You don’t have to be happy or satisfied or grateful every minute of your high school experience; you can be sad, greedy, selfish, and angry, especially if you are a sophomore or first semester senior. Let yourself have the simultaneously worst and best time; it’s all par for the course. 

–Kate Gruetter, Editor-in Chief

This might seem like obvious advice, but try to enroll in courses you’re genuinely interested in. Want to take Agroecology? Go for it! Maybe Philosophy is more your thing? That’s great, too! Some of the more obscure classes I’ve taken have proved to be the most rewarding, fun, and engaging classes in all my four years at LGHS. Many people get roped into only taking classes that will look best on a college application, but I think in doing so, they’re eliminating a lot of the best opportunities for learning and discovering what they’re passionate about. High school, at its core, is about finding yourself, and this is only possible if you give yourself the chance to experiment and explore different subjects. 

–Ella Marrufo, Editor-in-Chief

There’s no way around high school. Going through it will bring some of the best and worst moments of your life, but take comfort in knowing that everyone next to you is going through it too. You will not recognize the person you are on the other side of high school, and that’s okay. So many things change and learning to deal with it all makes you a stronger person. High school is only four years; you can count the number of days until your graduation from the beginning of freshman year. Don’t waste those days waiting for your life to move on because it will before you know it. 

–Veronica Schubert, Sports Editor

Five years from now, if all you can remember from high school is being stressed and unhappy over tests and assignments, then that would be tragic. While school is important, growing, learning, and experiencing things are too, so you have to learn to prioritize and manage your time. I promise you won’t remember that math test a month later, but you’ll remember the concert the night before for the rest of your life. Unless the math test was worth half your grade, but you really should have been preparing for that for weeks in advance. Also, before you can truly be happy with how things might turn out once they’re out of your control (basically after you turn in a test or submit a college application), you have to accept the worst-case scenario as a possible reality and be ok with it. 

–Esha Bagora, Media Production Editor