Dear Diary... Sincerely, Anna

     Good evening to everyone here tonight. I hope you all are excited to be in this building that is going to hold so many memories and experiences within your next few years. When I made the commitment to write this speech to you all, I sat down and thought to myself, “what would my freshman year self want to hear?” This is what I came up with: stay focused, study a lot, raise your hand in class, choose to go to the bathroom at the beginning or the end of class, join clubs, use your agenda, take notes and make intelligent choices. But then I thought about my own freshman year experience. The transition from middle school, where homework was a crossword puzzle, to high school, where you might just get to school when it is still dark out and somehow leave when the sun is setting, is understandably a little overwhelming at the beginning. Right around the corner, you will be starting your freshman year here at Whitman- Hanson. You will be meeting new faces and seeing new cl...

Dear Diary, I was just scrolling through Instagram, and I saw my favorite influencer post a picture with a caption that really made me sit and think. It was about how everyone has their own story. We all have our own paths that we create; our paths are where we are supposed to go. The caption also spoke about how some people are taught and influenced by others to have their path and future look a certain way, yet some individuals do not want to travel in that direction. The part that stuck out to me the most was: “not everything needs to be perfect, that’s what makes life so beautiful.” A lot of people believe that the most intelligent, highest scoring, and always busy students are the ones who are going to achieve the greatest and be the best after graduating. Honestly, I have had that idea drilled into my head since middle school because that is what society has taught me. I have been taught that burn out is “good” because it means you are working hard. But is it actually good? Is it...