Sophomore year, my first year in newspaper, I wrote an article about possible 2016 presidential candidates. A lot of people were giving answers that didn’t seem realistic, so I quoted a student, saying, “I think Donald Trump would be a good president because he is very involved with politics and is very good with business and running large corporations.”

Senior year comes around, and the unthinkable happens.

It just goes to show that while four years of high school goes so quickly, a lot can happen in those years. As a freshman in the fall of 2013, it seemed almost impossible to imagine the Chicago Cubs would win the World Series before graduation. But now here I am at 18 years old, and I have seen something most people over the last century never got to see.

Aside from the Cubs winning the World Series, having my own opportunity to be a part of the state championship was the highlight of my baseball career. Being a part of MHS’s baseball program was by far the most rewarding part of high school. Thank you to Coach Parola, Lerner, Pollock and Franzen for driving us to be our best.

When I started high school, I really didn’t know what to do with my life, but I quickly found lots of help and people who influenced my decision. After high school, I will be attending the University of Illinois- Springfield as a political science major.

Therefore, I first must thank Mr. McCarthy. He is probably the toughest teacher I’ve had; however, there was never a boring day in class. Aside from AP History, he helped me find my passion for wanting to change the direction of our country.

Then there was Mrs. Didzbalis, who helped me explore the news and grow as a writer.

In Mr. Kuhn’s class, I quickly nailed down my decision to study government. Mr. Kuhn was not only a great teacher but a mentor to his students.

A lot of people talk about how much they hated high school and how they cannot wait to be done. Yeah, of course college will be fun, but high school is not the torture chamber so many people make it out to be. Freshmen come in without so much as a driver’s license but then leave as 18-year-old seniors completely transformed in four years.

Regardless of what anyone says, high school really is a lot of fun. For any younger student, it’s important to just have fun with your time at Mundelein. It goes by quickly.

And for a last thank you, thank you to MHS for giving me a great four years and supplying me with so many memories.