“Someone in yearbook said that I look like a mother goose.

That was one of the biggest compliments I’ve ever gotten. It was from a new photographer in yearbook, and they said it’s because I have a very large personality and presence.

Yearbook definitely made me more outgoing. There’s no way to explain the experience of going to a sports event like football or basketball games – they were definitely some of my favorite times in high school. I really enjoy taking photos and just the overall feeling of being at a game and seeing people you know outside of an academic setting. I always recommend underclassmen to go. Even if you don’t like sports, it’s something to experience.

I’m really tall so I’ve always had to squat on the floor when taking photos at games. It used to make me really embarrassed, but I learned to get used to it. I wasn’t super into photography initially, but the more you experiment with it, the more you like it. You get more creative with it and feel more confident with the skills you develop.

In the beginning of my freshman year, I was a little wimp. But I ended up joining debate for two years which helped me become more comfortable with talking to people and become a better public speaker. I’m more determined now – everything I’ve gotten, I’ve gotten from learning to be more pushy and communicating more.

The summer before my junior year, I discovered there was to be no leadership in my yearbook class. In seventh period, it ended up only being me and another photo liaison. We were forced to step up and take a larger role in training the first year photographers. That was really fun, because I love talking to people that I know I will be working closely with in the future.

Junior year I took on a bigger role as photo liaison, which meant I had to make the calendar for all the photographers in yearbook. I had to reach out to all the coaches and players to get their schedules for games and such. I’m not great at sports, but you learn to be really good at small talk when you have to talk to someone you’ve never met in your life and you have no clue what the sport is at all.

In terms of next steps after I graduate, I will be attending George Washington University to major in political science and potentially economics and then either go to law school or get a graduate degree. I love DC as a city, and being in that city is a great opportunity for political science degrees. I also love public speaking and just speaking in general. Whenever I see a social, political or economic discrepancy, I want to act on it. I just need a background to be able to do that. I can’t just yap without a purpose.

I really liked all four years of high school, but I really want to get out of here. I’m just so tired of this building – I’ve seen every single corner of the entire school, and nothing surprises me anymore. But I’m definitely going to be really sad when I graduate, because a lot of these people I’m probably never seeing again.

I honestly didn’t really know who I was before Bellaire. Being in a huge school is great though, because you get to meet a lot of cool people you’ve never met, and all the things you are exposed to mold you into the person you become.”