Once upon a time, there was a group that called themselves The Howler.

This group was made up of students at Northwood High School who took on jobs as writers, editors, photographers and even artists. These individuals were very skilled at what they did, which was to put out monthly newspaper issues and publish articles on their website.

They went around doing heroic deeds like standing up for the truth, rescuing students from misinformation and destroying all Oxford commas from the vicinity. There wasn’t another group on campus that was quite like them.

…

Okay, stop the cameras, cut the sappy music already. I can’t do this.

In all honesty, it’s amazing what we’re able to do, even if nobody can fully appreciate the work that goes into each issue but us. Not too many people will read this anyways, because the celebration of our own seniors will be overshadowed by the lack of “celebration” over college acceptances.

Which is fine. If anyone at Northwood would understand what gets people to read the news, it’s us.

Graduation is always bittersweet—after all, it’s a time of change and change is always bittersweet. We physically leave the friends that have been with us since elementary, lose touch with some and fall apart from those that we met along the way. It really feels bitter to think about how quickly we leave. But the change is sweet as well—there’s so much independence, exploration and experience to be gained. Graduation isn’t as bitter as medicine but just as necessary, and it’s not as sweet as sugar, because that’d be too unhealthy. I’d say graduation is the taste of dark chocolate (the best kind of chocolate).

This is also a time of great change. I used to loathe change and clung onto the familiar out of fear. I was so scared of change. I still am—change is scary. Change is never going to be not scary. But four years at Northwood have taught me that change is unavoidable and not all that bad, so I should stop trying to reject it and embrace the change that comes my way. Well, maybe I’m not welcoming it with open arms, but I’m at least willing to shake its hand.

We’ve gone through so much more in our teenage lives than we ever signed up for. The world has changed a lot, and so have I. I believe—I know—that I have been changed for the better.

I can’t wait to see where we’ll all go. I hope to see you all again.

Or not. Who knows where we’ll end up? Certainly not me.

Best (tentatively),

Erin