Camille Storch
CO-EDITOR IN CHIEF

When I first stepped foot into Andover High School my first day of freshman year, I had a rush of emotions hit me like a wave. I felt scared, nervous, and confused, apprehensive about being able to make new friends, settle into a new environment, and enjoy my four years. I had a feeling in the back of my mind that the time would fly by extremely quickly, yet in the moment, just the first quarter of freshman year alone felt daunting. 

Throughout freshman year, I made more friends than I thought was possible, and joined different clubs and extracurricular activities, where I met even more people, including both students and teachers. I also was hit with a blunt reality of time management, and the inevitable struggle for balance between school and social life, a balance that probably will never be equal.

Sophomore year, I began to hit my stride, settling into a comfortable rhythm between running cross country after school, staying on top of my classwork, continuing to make progress taking piano lessons, and hanging out with friends. I was able to get involved in more clubs, including Mock Trial, which became a favorite part of my weekly routine. In addition, I found myself dealing with a knee injury from running and learned how to deal with the obstacles and annoyances of being unable to do something I love. 

March of sophomore year, I, along with the rest of the world, was faced with a new obstacle, greater than any obstacle I had ever faced; being in quarantine at home. With COVID and the first couple of months of at-home learning, I was able to adapt to a new way of taking in information and simply living. Being online for school had its benefits, but I also struggled with staying on top of my work if no one was there to enforce it. I got to see friends over Zoom, but that was nothing compared to hanging out with friends in real life. During these spring months stuck at my desk, the only motivator for me to keep going with school was the anticipation of summer. Even though the country was still very much shut down, I couldn’t wait for free time to just be outside, take bike rides and walks with friends, and go to the beach. 

Junior year, I began to start looking at schools to check out prospective colleges and locations I either liked or didn’t like. At the same time, many of my friends who were seniors were making their college decisions, which piqued my curiosity in the entire process. I began to spend a lot more time with these friends, trying to make the most of our time together before they graduated. With school being hybrid, I only got to see half of my school, which meant only seeing half of my friends when I was in the building. Lunch time is normally a time when I can sit and talk with everyone, not just the kids in my exact lunch block class, but instead, I was only in the Dunn Gym, eating my lunch at a desk six feet away from the next, during the same two blocks each week. As I entered the summer post junior year, I was swept up with working at my family’s bakery, working on my college essay, and trying to wrap my head around entering my last year of high school. 

Now, as I complete my senior year, I am grateful for all of the opportunities and fun experiences that have been provided to me as a result of being part of the Andover High community. I have worked hard this past year, but I finally feel that my hard work and effort has paid off, and I am looking forward to the future. I know it sounds cliche, but our high school years truly do fly by in a blink of an eye, and as Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” When I look back after four years of high school, the memories, experiences, learning curves, and growth makes it a time worthwhile.